Emerald Rising: Book One
by TheInkredibleKaptainKaiju
Summary: The Gem War has ended. Pink Diamond has been shattered, forcing Homeworld to retreat. Left weak and divided by this defeat, a new enemy emerges to destroy all of Gemkind. Now, a lone Emerald will have to rise to the challenge, and become the hero Homeworld needs.
1. Exodus

The Elsewhere Saga: Emerald Rising

Book One: Allegiance

Chapter One: Exodus

* * *

_Planet Earth. Era 1 Year 5,138,922. Late October._

The sound of explosions and shouts shook the once peaceful planet, now turned in its entirety into a battleground. What survivors would later go on to call "the Gem War," or, more descriptively, "the War for Earth," had raged for decades, and was just now on its last legs. The leader of a rogue terrorist cell of Gems had done the unthinkable: Rose Quartz had somehow managed to shatter Pink Diamond. The other Diamonds had ordered an evacuation of Earth, effective immediately.

Somewhere in what would later become Europe, one final skirmish raged. Humans armed with cannons salvaged from Gem ships pushed the Homeworld Gems back, away from the latter's camp. Dozens of Gems of all types raced to waiting dropships, taking them into orbit around the blue planet. Among these Gems, one was called Emerald. The green Gem stood a good eight feet tall, with a coffin-shaped gemstone on her right upper forearm. Currently, she was evacuating her subordinates.

"Everyone, we need to move _now_!" she shouted. "The Diamonds gave us twenty-four hours to leave, and that was twenty-four hours ago! Move, move, _move!_"

Emerald ducked behind a tree to avoid incoming cannon-fire. She activated a small communicator, asking into it,

"Tanzanite, are you there? What's the situation? Give me some good news."

A monotone voice answered. "Yes, My Emerald. Sensors have detected some manner of energy beam racing from Homeworld to Earth at seven times the speed of light. By my estimates, you have five minutes until impact."

"Ugh," Emerald growled. "They don't make it easy for us, do they? Keep those engines warm, we'll be right with you."

"Yes, My Emerald. Diamondspeed." the voice said, and the transmission ended. More explosions rocked the forest around the fleeing Gems. The humans, no longer content with only their ranged offensive, began sending soldiers to deal with the fleeing Gems in close combat.

Emerald was continuing to direct her troops, when a flash of something pink caught her eye. There, nestled beneath a fallen tree in a dry creek bed, sat a Pearl. Immediately curious as to what such a Gem was doing in a warzone such as this, Emerald rushed over to her, before the swipe of a broadsword blocked her path.

"Die, demon!" the human yelled. Two more of the organics flanked their fellow, all three of them decked out in armor and armed with weapons forged from Gem tech. No doubt gifted to them by the Crystal Gems.

Emerald snarled. "I don't have time for this!" Her gem began to glow, and a blade emerged, a foot or so from her hand in length, perpendicular to her arm. "Get out of my way before I run you through!"

As always, the humans didn't listen. The first reared up for an overhead swing, but Emerald blocked it and quickly disarmed him, moving on to his fellows. The second lunged, though Emerald sidestepped, grabbing the human by the shoulder. Before the third could react, Emerald threw the other towards him, sending them both to the ground.

Emerald turned and continued to walk towards the creek, but the same humans returned to block her path. With an irritated sigh, Emerald thrush her left hand outwards. Bolts of green electricity shot from her palm, arcing between the humans. The trio shook for a few seconds, before collapsing to the ground. With an angry snort, Emerald walked past them.

Emerald now had a better view of the Pearl; the small Gem was curled into a ball, flinching at every sound she heard. The poor thing was looking around wildly, tears welling up in her eyes. Her skin, hair, gem, and outfit were all pink. She wore a small skirt along with tights and slippers, with her hair in a bob. Her gem rested on her navel. Emerald jumped down into the creekbed, scooping the Pearl up in her arms.

"Hey, it's okay, I've got you. I've got you." Emerald tried to reassure the frightened Gem. "Are you alright?" she asked. "Where's your owner? Who do you belong to?"

"I...I d-don't know…" the Pearl answered tearfully.

"What?" Emerald asked, incredulous. "How do you not...nevermind, nevermind." The larger Gem carried the smaller one out of the creek towards the edge of the forest.

"Hello!? I found a Pearl! Has anyone lost a Pearl!?" Emerald shouted to passing Gems. "You there! Do you recognize this Pearl? Is she yours?" Emerald asked a passing Pyrope. The burgundy Gem shook her head, and continued running. Emerald followed suit, taking the Pearl to a nearby dropship.

"Here," she said, passing the Pearl to a Citrine in the ship. "Take her to the _Evaporator_. I'll be with you shortly."

"Yes, My Emerald," the Quartz responded. "Where are you going to go?"

"I have to make sure everyone else got onboard a ship," Emerald answered. "Make sure she's comfortable," gesturing towards the Pearl.

The Citrine nodded, as the doors to the ship closed, taking off towards Emerald's flagship. Now that the Pearl was safe, she headed towards higher ground to survey the situation. A handful of Rubies and Quartz soldiers were locked in combat with human combatants. A deep green Garnet, an Uvarovite, was overlooking the situation. Emerald approached her.

"General, we have to evacuate now," Emerald said. "Why are your troops still engaging the enemy?"

The Uvarovite responded, "My Emerald, we have reason to believe the humans have raided our armory and stolen the high-yield plasma explosives." A high-pitched whine followed by a flash of light and a deafening boom confirmed this fact. "Just one of those things would be enough to disable a dropship. We'll keep them away from the treeline while the rest of you escape."

More explosions rang out. "General, I can't let any Gems under my command get left behind," Emerald said sternly.

Uvarovite placed her hand on Emerald's shoulder. "If we leave now, all those dropships will never make it. Besides, you won't be leaving us behind, we're staying willingly."

As Emerald was still unsure, Uvarovite continued. "My Emerald, when I was added to your division all those years ago, I promised you that I would give my life for you. Please, let me keep that promise.

Emerald looked down. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"I know," the Garnet responded. "I want to."

"Very well then," Emerald sighed, turning to go. She briefly turned back, saying "It was an honor serving with you, Uvarovite."

"With you as well, My Emerald. _Adamantem In Eternum._"

"_Adamantem In Eternum_," Emerald echoed, as she hurried towards the dropships. Three bright lights, the same colors as the remaining Diamonds, appeared in the sky. This was Emerald's cue to start running.

One final ship remained on the ground, nearly empty aside from a trio of Amethysts. Just as Emerald hopped in, the lights in the sky grew almost as bright as the sun.

"Get us the void out of here!" Emerald shouted to the pilot. In response, the Nephrite pulled upwards, though the door to the ship did not close.

"Something's wrong, My Emerald!" the Nephrite called back. "I think the door is jammed!"

The lights in the sky were no longer in the sky, but had just made contact with the planet's surface. As Emerald pulled on the ship's door an enormous shockwave raced across Earth, reaching the ship just as Emerald managed to shut the door.

A searing pain shot through Emerald's left wrist, bringing her to her knees. Just as quickly as it had come, it had vanished.

"Are you alright, My Emerald?" one of the Amethysts asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, fine," Emerald grumbled, massaging away the residual pain. "Let's just get back to the ship and leave this nightmare behind us."

* * *

The _Soul Evaporator_ was Emerald's personal flagship, from which she commanded legions of soldiers and starships. Shaped not unlike a modern train engine, there were six large turrets on each side, as well as four smaller ones towards the front. It currently orbited just outside of the Earth's atmosphere, and was the destination of the numerous dropships from the last few hours, now including Emerald's.

Emerald entered the bridge of the _Soul Evaporator_, where two Gems were waiting for. One was absolutely massive, standing a full head-and-a-half taller than Emerald, and much broader. She had grayish skin, a black jumpsuit, and long, white hair. It could not be seen due to her hair, but her gemstone, black, and circular with an octagonal facet, was on the back of her neck. Her name was Onyx, a Quartz soldier, and Emerald's personal champion and bodyguard.

The other Gem was Much smaller, roughly the size of a Pearl. Her dark blue gemstone, in the shape of a square, was positioned on the back of her right hand. She was quite slender, and was dressed in a tight blue jumpsuit, the same color as her gem and hair. Speaking of her hair, it was cut in the shape of a square, giving her the illusion of having a box-shaped head when viewed from the front. Her name was Tanzanite, and it was her who Emerald wished to see.

As she entered the bridge, Emerald asked "Tanzanite, give me a status report. What kind of damage are we looking at here?"

"Yes, My Emerald," Tanzanite responded, showing no emotion either in her voice or on her face. "By my estimates, just under four billion Gems were destroyed by the Diamond's weapon. Of them, roughly thirty percent were still loyal to Homeworld."

Emerald sighed. "This all feels so surreal. Just yesterday I felt the war was almost won, and now Pink Diamond…" She stopped herself, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, Mera," came the gruff voice of Onyx. "We've been through worse, we'll get through this."

In spite of herself, Emerald couldn't help but grin a bit. "I thought I told you not to call me 'Mera,' Onyx."

"My mistake, miss," the black Gem said, smirking. "But all kidding aside, what do we do now?"

"My Emerald, I would not risk returning to the Galaxy Warp," Tanzanite said. "Even if there is no residual energy from the Diamond attack, it has no doubt been taken by the inhabitants of this planet."

Emerald nodded in agreement. "Either way, it wouldn't be worth losing more Gems then we've already lost. There's a mass-warp point on one of Jupiter's moons, near Blue Diamond's Human Zoo. We'll meet up there, and warp back to Homeworld that way. Chart a course, now."

Tanzanite nodded, relaying the information to the Peridots and Nephrites at the helm. Emerald took her place at the captain's chair, and sent out a transmission.

"To all Homeworld-allied starships, this is Supreme Admiral Emerald of the _Soul Evaporator_. All ships receiving this broadcast, we will rendezvous at outpost Upsilon-Theta to warp back to Homeworld. End transmission."

Emerald reclined in her chair, as Onyx approached.

"Not to intrude, miss," the large Gem said, "but I was told you have a visitor in your quarters."

Emerald stood up. In all the excitement, she had completely forgotten about the Pearl. She hurried to her quarters to greet her new guest.


	2. Union and Reunion

Chapter Two: Union and Reunion

* * *

_High Earth orbit._

A single dropship carrying several Citrines, as well as one unexpected guest, broke through the Earth's atmosphere. It's destination was the _Soul Evaporator_, stationed just beyond the planet's gravity field. Once it arrived, the occupants departed and took their stations, except for three.

"Do you think Emerald will make it out okay?" one of the yellow Gems asked. "It's getting pretty gnarly down there…"

"She'll be fine, she's Emerald!" her fellow responded. "Besides, now that we're out of combat, we have other things to worry about. What are we going to do with _her_?"

The "her" the Citrine was referring to was the pink Pearl that Emerald had tasked them with getting back on the ship. She had calmed down significantly since takeoff, and had not said a single word throughout the entire journey.

"I guess we could take her to Emerald's quarters," the first one said. The two Citrines walked down the hall, the Pearl following close behind.

"Are you sure that's a good Idea? Emerald won't be mad, will she?"

"'Course she won't. She told us to make sure the Pearl was comfortable, and her room is the most comfortable room on the ship."

Once the trio reached the end of the hallway, the second Citrine pressed a hand-shaped button next to a large door. The door slid open, revealing a very large and intricate room. In addition to the several star charts adorning the walls and shelves full of navigation instruments, a gigantic pillow lay against the wall. The ceiling was covered in graphics of constellations.

"So, uh, I guess this is where you'll stay," one Citrine said. The other had already walked away to her post. "Um...well, bye."

Without any fanfare, the Citrine wandered off, the door closing behind her. Now that she was alone, Pearl began to take in her surroundings, her fear replaced with a childlike curiosity. As much as she wanted to touch the strange instruments on the shelves, she decided not to, worried that the kind Emerald who rescued her may become upset with her if she did. Instead, she decided to stand in the center of the room, as still as a statue. Standing still was what she did best, after all.

After a few minutes of silence, Pearl was started by a knock at the door. "You in there, little guy?" a deep voice asked. The door opened, revealing a towering gray Gem. She was so big, in fact that she had to duck down in order to fit through the door. Pearl detected no hostility from her, but was nevertheless intimidated by her size.

Onyx sat down on the cushion, immediately sinking to the floor. If a smaller Gem had been sitting next to her, they would have been propelled into the ceiling.

"I heard some of the Citrines talking about how Mera rescued you. She's always been a 'no Gem left behind' kind of gal, but she's never brought back a Pearl before."

"Mera?" Pearl said quizzically, tilting her head.

"Oh, right, Mera," Onyx said. "That's what I call her when she's not around. Also when she is. She doesn't like it very much, though, so watch out!"

Onyx pat the spot next to her on the cushion. Pearl walked over and sat next to her.

"So, what's your story?" Onyx inquired. Pearl stuttered a bit, but didn't speak. "Tongue-tied, huh? Eh, okay. I'll see you later, I have stuff to do anyway." With that, Onyx stood up. Pearl sunk deep into the pillow.

Just as Onyx walked out the door, she paused. Turning back, the large Gem asked the Pearl "By the way, you aren't a...a Crystal Gem, are you?" She said the term with a sort of wariness or, if Pearl's hearing wasn't mistaken, fear. Pearl shook her head, and Onyx, content with her answer, left the room.

* * *

After a while of trying to escape her cushy prison, the door opened once more. This time, a familiar green Gem entered. Pearl immediately sat upright, before falling back down into the pillow. Emerald couldn't help but smile at this sight.

"I see you've made yourself comfortable," Emerald joked, joining Pearl on the giant pillow. "How are you holding up?"

The Pearl was much more talkative with her rescuer. "Much better, actually," she said softly. "Thank you very much for saving me. I never got the chance to say so earlier."

Emerald smiled. "Of course. 'No Gem left behind' means no Gem left behind. No exceptions." Emerald's cheerful demeanor faltered for a moment, but it soon passed. Evidently, Pearl didn't notice.

"Not even a lowly Pearl?"

"No Gem is too lowly to save," Emerald explained. "I just wish the rest of Homeworld could see that."

The two sat in silence for a while, before Emerald broke it.

"Back on Earth, you told me you didn't know who you belonged to. Can you tell me what you meant?"

"Okay," Pearl whispered. "The first thing I can remember is Blue Diamond, looking down at me. She said that I had turned out wonderfully, and that Pink would be very pleased with me."

"You were Pink Diamond's Pearl?" Emerald asked.

"I was going to be. I was meant to be a gift, a reward for her first colony. They took me to Earth. There was going to be a big ceremony, with all of Blue and Pink Diamonds' entourage. But before I could be…"

Pearl trailed off, but Emerald knew exactly what she was going to say.

Pearl continued. "I got separated from my group. I didn't know where I was, and there was fire, and explosions, and Gems running and shouting everywhere. That's when you found me."

Emerald regarded the petite Gem sitting next to her with pity in her eyes. She had to help her somehow, but how? The best thing she could think of was to keep her safe from further harm.

Emerald stood up. "We'll be arriving soon. I need to be on the bridge to direct landing procedures. Would you like to come with me, or stay here?" Pearl indicated the latter. Emerald, making sure her guest was comfortable, exited the room.

* * *

_Surface of Io_

As Emerald stepped out onto the satellite's surface, she saw numerous other Gems of all kinds milling about. Some were trying to activate the mass-warp station, while others were talking. Others still were being consoled about recent events. It all looked very disorganized.

'Is this what we are now?" Emerald thought to herself. "Once a proud race of enlightened beings, now scavengers praying for salvation?' Emerald knew what was before her was only a small group, but the thought of it was what worried her. Since she was too busy taking in the sights, she didn't notice another Gem walk up behind her until the latter spoke.

"I swear, if they don't get that mass-warp up and running, I am going to shatter someone."

Emerald turned around to see who the voice belonged to. A Holly Blue Agate, standing stern as ever. She had her hair in two buns on the top of her head. Emerald could not see her gemstone, but it was on the back of her neck. Several Quartz soldiers dressed in blue stood in a group a few meters behind her, talking amongst themselves.

"With everything that has gone wrong in these past few days, something had better go right," the Agate complained to no-one in particular, before turning her attention to Emerald.

"Ah, you must be the Emerald who brought us all here! I must say, using the mass-warp was a tremendous idea, Your Brilliance. I don't know what we would have done without you!"

"We could still have gone to Homeworld the long way," Emerald responded, "but we needed to hurry. Gemkind has never seen a crisis like this before in all its millennia of history. Returning home as fast as possible was the top priority, so we can decide our next move."

"Logical as ever, Your Brilliance!" Holly Blue said cheerfully, before turning to the Quartzes behind her. "Settle down, you horrid off-colors!" she snapped. "Don't make me come over there!" Emerald was slightly taken aback by her quick change in attitude.

"Who are those Quartzes over there?" Emerald asked curiously.

"Oh, _them_." Holly Blue said, not even bothering to hide her irritation. They were formed on Earth. Blue Diamond has tasked them with running The Zoo, with me in charge. While I will _happily_ follow any command my Diamond gives me, I must say it pains me having to work so closely with these...off-colors.

Emerald nodded, though she didn't agree. Off-colors were hated amongst other Gems, to the point that most were shattered on site. Emerald agreed that they could be unsettling in appearance or actions, though she felt this response was excessive.

"Of all the Gems from Earth, why couldn't I work with Jasper?" Holly continued. She didn't even need to specify which Jasper, as Emerald immediately knew which Jasper she meant. _The_ Jasper. Pink Diamond's Champion. The Hammer of Homeworld. The Diamond's Fury.

While Holly continued to gush about her Diamond, and other Gems she found admirable, maintenance on the mass-warp station had finished. A beam of light shot out from the top, illuminating the moon for miles around.

"That would be my sign to leave," Emerald said. "Good luck with the Zoo, Agate. If I find the time, I just might visit one day."

"Oh, please do!" Holly said. "I swear to you, it will be absolutely extravagant!"

The _Soul Evaporator_ and several other ships took off, and headed into the mass-warp. One by one, each ship was instantly transported back to Homeworld's galaxy. Finally, the _Soul Evaporator_ passed through, and the portal shut off, leaving the moon in quiet darkness.

On the moon's surface, Holly Blue had been waving passionately until Emerald's ship disappeared from sight. With only the Quartzes nearby, her smile turned into a grimace.

"Leadership like that," she mumbled, "is exactly what got us into this mess in the first place."


	3. Mera-morphosis

Chapter Three: Mera-morphosis

* * *

_The _Soul Evaporator_, Homeworld's Galaxy._

Even at ninety-percent lightspeed, the mass-warp was still a day or so away from homeworld. As the small fleet of ships (relatively) slowly cruised through the vastness of space, every Gem wordlessly tended to her duty, still too shaken by the preceding events to start up a conversation. It seemed like just yesterday Pink Diamond was giving a tremendous speech on how Homeworld's victory was inevitable, and yet, at the same time, it seemed so far away.

The melancholy silence was broken when Emerald, seated in her captain's chair, received a priority message from Homeworld. Assuming it to be one of her fellow Beryls, she answered it without a second thought, only to be surprised when none other than Yellow Diamond herself appeared on the monitor.

Emerald sprung to her feet almost too fast to perceive. Just as quickly saluting, she stammered out a startled "M-my Diamond! I hadn't expected-well, I _had_, but so much was happening, that I-how may I be of service, My Diamond?"

Yellow Diamond's eyes narrowed. She was currently occupied with several reports, none of which Emerald could see. "The last time I spoke to you," she said coldly, "I ordered a full evacuation of Earth and immediate return to Homeworld. I would have thought that this would include Homeworld's Supreme Admiral." Strangely, her Pearl, who usually was always by her side, was nowhere to be seen.

"I apologize, My Diamond," Emerald said. "We were cut off from the galaxy warp. We had to escape the long way, using the mass-warp. I assure you, we'll arrive at Homeworld within hours."

Yellow Diamond looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't. Emerald was sure she could sense a trace of what appeared to be grief on her Diamond's countenance. "See that you do," Yellow Diamond said. "I will not tolerate any more delays. End communication."

The feed cut off, leaving the _Soul Evaporator_'s bridge in silence once again. Emerald stood up to look out a window next to her.

"Yikes. She seems angrier than usual," came Onyx's voice. "She must be taking our defeat pretty badly."

"On the contrary, I surmise she is more upset with the shattering of Pink Diamond," Tanzanite responded. "Data shows that the death of one with whom an individual had a close relationship produces a strong emotional response, most commonly anger, sadness, or denial. I would have no first-hand knowledge of this phenomenon, however."

"Of course she's upset!" a nearby Amethyst burst out. She had been sitting nearby in silence with the rest of her facet-mates, clearly troubled more so than the others by Pink's passing. Now she was making her feelings known. "This wasn't supposed to happen! This _shouldn't _have happened! Diamonds can't die! They...they just _can't_!" She was becoming more and more worked up as she let her grief out.

Everyone had been thinking something similar. Rebellions were not unheard of in Gem history, but the Diamonds were the immortal, infallible, indestructible rulers of Homeworld. As far as the Gems were concerned, they were as old and eternal as the universe itself, possibly even older. For one of them to be shattered, by one of her own soldiers no less, sent ripples throughout the empire the likes of which no Gem had seen before.

The Amethyst was not quite so worked up anymore, but she was still just as upset. She continued, "If Pink Diamond can be shattered, who's to say the other Diamonds can't be too? And if the Diamonds get shattered, where would that leave Gems like us? What would happen to Homeworld?" Tears of worry stung her eyes, but did not fall.

Other Gems looked at each other, wordlessly agreeing with her sentiment. The Amethyst sat back down in her chair. "I'm sorry for my outburst, My Emerald," she said quietly.

Emerald took a deep breath. "It's true that Pink Diamond is no longer with us," she said, "but we're not doomed yet." She walked to the center of the bridge, every eye present on her. "Yes, Homeworld has never taken a hit like this before. But we can still recover. I've served Yellow Diamond for almost seven thousand years now, and time after time I've seen Gems overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. This time is no different. Once we get back to Homeworld, we regroup, we rearm, and we continue to expand our empire. And we come out of it all the stronger."

"She always was good with the speeches," Onyx whispered to Tanzanite.

Emerald walked over to the Amethyst from earlier, placing her left hand on her shoulder. "Rose Quartz and every Crystal Gem on that miserable planet have been reduced to ashes; Homeworld is not one to take defeat lightly. We will recover from this, just wait and see."

The Amethyst smiled, placing her hand on top of Emerald's. "Thank you, My Emerald. We may be beneath you, but you always treat us like we matter. That's why I-HOLY SHARD!"

The Amethyst reeled back, apparently startled by Emerald. The green Gem was confused and slightly taken-aback, but soon noticed the cause of her start: Emerald's left hand, the same one that had been burned by the Diamond's attack, seemed to have sprouted claws. Though not noticeable from a distance, her fingers were slightly longer and skinnier than they had been before, with the tips sharpening into points.

"Huh," Emerald said breathlessly. "That's new."

* * *

Upon arriving at Homeword, the crew of the _Soul Evaporator_ disembarked. Emerald and Onyx walked down a hallway to a communications hub, Pearl trailing a few meters behind them. Emerald balled her left hand into a fist to hide her mutation.

"So, it wasn't like that back on Earth?" Onyx asked for the umpteenth time.

"I told you, that was the first time I even noticed it," Emerald replied. "I have no idea what's going on. Maybe it's a shapeshifting malfunction, or-or a glitch or something. My gem isn't cracked, so far as I can tell."

"We need to get you to an expert," Onyx said. "Whatever it is could be serious. Maybe it's a disease. Crack, can Gems even _get_ diseases? This raises so many concerning questions."

"You're starting to sound like Tanzanite with all your technical talk," Emerald joked. "Well, Tanzanite if she could hold a decent conversation."

"I believe that notion is correct, My Emerald," Onyx said, imitating her blue friend.

Emerald smiled. "In all seriousness, we probably shouldn't tell anyone about this..._this_. We don't want there to be more trouble than there already is."

As the pair continued walking, Pearl walked closer to try and catch a glimpse at Emerald's hand. She had been told what had happened, but she had not seen it for herself. Her peering caught the attention of Emerald.

"Pearl, I almost forgot about you," said Emerald, walking closer to her. "I really need to stop making that a habit." Pearl continued to peek at Emerald's hand as she spoke. "I've thought it over, and I've decided that since you have no owner, you'll stay with me until we can get this all sorted out. Is this alright?" Emerald didn't have to ask the Pearl for her thoughts on the matter, but she felt lower-class Gems deserved courtesies like this.

"Of course, Mer-I mean, My Emerald!" Pearl said happily. "I would be honored to."

"Technically, I'm not _your_ Emerald," she replied. "Just 'Emerald' will suffice."

Pearl was shocked that such a high-class Gem was allowing her to refer to her with such casual diction. So much so, in fact, that she forgot all about her mission to see what Emerald's clawed hand looked like, simply walking along with a stunned look on her face.

Upon arrival to the communications hub, trio split off into two. Onyx went to speak with other Onyxes about preceding events, while Emerald headed for the rooftop overlook, with Pearl in tow.

From the top floor, Emerald stared out across Homeworld's skyline. Aside from Pearl, she was alone.

"Wow," Pearl whispered in awe. "So this is Homeworld."

Emerald turned to her. "Oh, that's right; you've never seen it before. It really is something, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful…" Pearl said softly.

"You know, Pearl...the truth is, after everything that happened, I can't help but be a little bit scared too. It's true: something like this has never happened in the history of Homeworld. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure where we'll go from here."

"I think you said it best yourself," said Pearl. "We regroup, rearm, and expand our empire, and we come out all the stronger."

Emerald grinned. "You were listening to my speech, weren't you?"

Pearl blushed. "Maybe a little bit." She embraced the taller Gem, before suddenly reeling back. "Oh! M-my apologies! I was told Pink Diamond enjoyed hugs, but I wasn't sure if you did, and I…"

"Don't worry about it," Emerald said, returning the Pearl's affections. "Hugging is allowed. In fact, it's encouraged."

"Hugging is encouraged," Pearl said. Emerald tenderly placed her right palm on Pearl's head.

The display of affection was cut short by a deep rumble and accompanying quake. The two jolted apart. "What on Homeworld was that!?" asked Pearl, startled.

"I don't know. Follow me!" Emerald said. The pair hurried down to the ground floor. Gems of all sorts were running to man their stations.

"Onyx! Where's Onyx?" Emerald shouted. "What's happening? For stars' sake, can anyone tell me _what's going on!?_"

"My Emerald! We're being attacked!" a Nephrite shouted, before running past.

"Attacked!?" Emerald yelled in disbelief. "By who? What?" Nobody answered. "Don't tell me the Crystal Gems followed us here!"

"My Diamond?" Pearl asked. "Is everything alright? Are we going to be okay?"

"Yes," Emerald answered. "Everything is going to be just fine." Her tone of voice indicated that this was far from the case. "Right now I need to see what's going on, and you need to get to safety. You there!" she called to a passing Ruby. "Get this Pearl to a bunker immediately." The Ruby saluted. "Go with her," Emerald told Pearl. "I'll be right back, just go, quickly!"

Both Pearl and her temporary protector hurried off into the distance, while Emerald ran in the opposite direction, towards the commotion. Multiple explosions rang out in the distance.

At last, Emerald reached the source of the commotion several blocks away. It was still hard to make out what was going on, but a battle was clearly raging, on the ground as well as in the air. Emerald looked towards the sky, shocked by what she saw.

"What in White Diamond's name is _that_?"


	4. The Invasion Begins

Chapter Four: The Invasion Begins

* * *

_Homeworld, Sagittarius Sector, Technical District_

'That' was a ship.

A very large, heavily-armed ship, as a matter of fact. It was easily a few hundred meters from bow to stern, the size of a Class-Z Dreadnought like the _Soul Evaporator_. It was immediately obvious to Emerald that this was not a Gem ship: it was far too metallic and sharp-edged. It was shaped like a knife, an ornately carved one at that.

Worse still, it wasn't the only aggressor. From out of the big one, which Emerald surmised to be the mothership, dropships and fighters emerged. The fighters were engaged with Gem ships in aerial combat, while the dropships carried unidentified combatants to the ground, to do battle with Rubies and Quartzes. Cannons from the mothership appeared to be the cause of the tremors, as it was currently bombarding the nearby buildings with torpedoes.

Having surveyed the situation from afar, Emerald hurried closer to engage this mysterious foe. As she got closer to the action, she could clearly see just what they were up against: dozens upon dozens of mechanical soldiers emerged from the dropships, firing at any Gem who happened to be nearby. Emerald clenched her fist, her blade emerging from her gemstone.

_Those cowards_, she thought to herself. _They can't even do their own fighting, so they send robots to do it for them_. She approached a small platoon of the automatons, prepared for combat. _Then again, maybe they're just weak. Or lazy_.

Each one of the machines stood six feet tall in height. Covered in dull silver armor, there were wires and tubing visible in their joints. Their faces were featureless except for two eyes, glowing bright red. Despite being machines, their movement seemed very fluid and, if you'll pardon the expression, organic. Each one of their right forearms consisted of a blaster cannon.

Before they could react to this new threat, Emerald lunged. Her blade cut through one of the attackers like tissue paper, instantly separating its head and neck from its body. Its fellows opened fire on Emerald, who merely shrugged off the energy shots. Hacking and slashing at anything nearby, she made short work of her assaulters. Sparks, fluids, and shards of metal flew until all the robots lay destroyed at her feet. However, she failed to notice more of the machines surrounding her, until they opened fire. The sheer volume of blasts made it difficult to shrug off this time. Overwhelmed, Emerald tried to slowly make her way to cover, but just as quickly as it had started, the barrage ceased as the invaders were distracted by something else. Emerald looked up just in time to see a white object streak through the air, impaling three of the robots to a nearby wall. The object was a staff, sharpened at both ends, a weapon that Emerald was all too familiar with.

The staff's owner came into view to engage with the combatants. She was a white Gem, standing a half-a-head or so taller than Emerald, but much more slender. Her hair flowed down to her shoulders, shaped like an intricate headdress, and dressed in a no-nonsense jumpsuit. A brilliant white gem shaped like a diamond sat on her lower back. Goshenite.

"Emerald. So _good_ to see you back safe and sound," the white Gem said snidely. It was clear she thought otherwise. "And here I thought you were left behind on Earth."

"You weren't so lucky," Emerald responded, but Goshenite had already taken the fight elsewhere. Emerald did likewise, avoiding some cannonfire from above, meeting a company of Gems holed up in the ruins of a building, led by a yellow Agate. Emerald approached this Gem to inquire on the situation.

"Agate, what are we looking at here?" Emerald asked.

The Agate saluted. "My Emerald, we were just sitting here when this ship just showed up out of nowhere, and started blowing our defenses to void! I have no idea how it got past our hyperspace radar."

"What!?" Emerald was stunned. "You mean it wasn't detected beforehand? How does a ship that size bypass our scanners!?"

"I don't know, My Emerald!" the Agate said. "All I know is that whatever's piloting it is undoubtedly hostile."

Several of the soldiers attacked a group of Gems not a few meters away. "I could have told you that!" Emerald said. Just then, a cannon shot exploded just a few stories above the group. Glass and foundation rained down on them as they vacated. "Get the rail turrets online, now!" Emerald shouted to the Agate.

Emerald activated her communicator. "Tanzanite, warm up the _Evaporator_. We aren't finished just yet.

* * *

From the bridge of the _Soul Evaporator_, Emerald surveyed the situation: despite the ship's size, the damage had been contained to a few blocks at most. The Agate from earlier had indeed gotten the rail turrets online, and several shots of plasma accelerated at close to lightspeed had begun to take their toll on the enemy ship, as had those from Emerald's ship, though not as much as Emerald had hoped. Enemy fighter ships and troops had been thinned all but to none, the torpedoes now providing the main threat.

"My Emerald, enemy hull integrity is holding strong, and five of the six rail turrets are offline," a Peridot reported. "What's that thing _made_ of!?"

Sitting on her chair, Emerald stroked her chin in contemplation. With how well that ship was taking the punishment they were dishing out, it would take days to destroy it. Unless…

Suddenly, Emerald got an idea. "Tanzanite, get me a full report of the enemy ship's integrity. Find me where the hull is the weakest, and fire a boarding pod at that location. We'll destroy it from the inside."

"Of course, My Emerald," Tanzanite said. "Scans indicate this area here to be where the armor is at its thinnest." The blue Gem motioned to a small area on the ship's side. "Er...My Emerald?"

Emerald had gotten up from her seat, and headed for the lower decks. "I'm going as well," she said. "I want to know firsthand who had the audacity to attack Homeworld."

Emerald, joined by two Citrines, was placed in a boarding pod, and aimed at the structural weak point. Magnetically accelerated, the pointed pod was fired towards the invader, piercing the hull, and allowing infiltration of the vessel.

Emerald and her guards disembarked, and were surprised to be greeted not by soldiers and gunfire, but silence and darkness. If the ship wasn't still firing at the ground below, the trio would swear it was abandoned.

The Gems activated their lights, and slowly crept forwards. "Watch our blind spots," Emerald ordered. "I've been in enough battles to recognize an ambush." The Gems continued through much of the ship, but, aside from the occasional creak of metal or fire of the cannons, it seemed the ship truly was abandoned.

"So, what's the deal?" one of the Citrines asked. "Did they all abandon ship when their bots started losing, or something?"

"If they did, then their ship must be automated," her twin responded. "Maybe it was automated to begin with, and 'they' never came here at all."

It would seem her theory was correct; as the trio entered the cannon room, each one was targeting and firing without any input from other beings. There was no way for a physical being to even control the turrets, so far as Emerald could see. They were not aiming specifically at Gems, either: they seemed to be targeting structural weak points, with the aim of destroying buildings and other structures.

"What do you make of this?" a Citrine wondered aloud.

"Is this what 'they' do?" the other also wondered. "Just send out ships and attack whoever they want?"

Without warning, Emerald slammed the targeting computer with an electrically-charged punch, startling the Citrines. Each of the turrets immediately shut down. "They don't anymore," Emerald said. "Let's get the other side."

Before the boarding party could leave, however, a pair of mechanical troopers appeared to their sides. The first took a Citrine by surprise, stunning her with a few energy blasts. The second Citrine shoulder-charged her attacker into the next room, before repeatedly pounding the malevolent machine into the floor. Meanwhile, Emerald, caught off guard, swiped at the first robot with her newly-clawed left hand. The claws left four deep marks in the machine's metal, disorienting it just long enough for Emerald to kick it to the ground, and smash its head to pieces with one powerful stomp.

_Maybe this isn't so bad after all_, Emerald thought, regarding her hand. She approached her fallen subordinate, offering her her right hand. "You all right, soldier?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm just fine, My Emerald," the Citrine answered, taking her commander's hand. "It just knocked me down is all."

"Good to hear," Emerald said. "And how about you?"

"Why, yes, I'm fantastic. Thank you so much for asking," a deep voice that wasn't Citrine's responded.

Emerald whipped around, greeted by the sight of another robot. This one was much larger than the cannon fodder she had been fighting. It held itself with an almost regal air, aided by its broad-shouldered build. In its hand, it held the Citrine's gem.

"Such fragile little things, aren't you?" it said. Its voice was full of mocking sweetness. "You certainly look imposing, but all it takes is a few good hits, and 'Poof!' _You've disappeared_." The last two words were dripping with venom.

Once she realized this machine was holding her friend, the other Citrine charged at him in a blind rage. Without any change in demeanor, the robot dropped her partner and caught her by the neck, lifting her over his head. As she struggled, he regarded her for a moment, before crushing the Gem's throat. She was immediately forced back into her gemstone, which clattered to the floor.

"I rest my case," the automaton said coldly. "But how about you?" he asked Emerald. "Do you break just as easily? Or are you made of sterner stuff?"

In response to his question, Emerald lunged. She was able to dodge the robot's counterpunch, but her blade glanced harmlessly off of his armor. Now behind him, Emerald jumped up onto his back. She dug into his shoulder with her claws, and drove her blade into his neck. The robot merely laughed, grabbing Emerald by the wrist and throwing her to the ground. A huge slash was now visible on his neck, but he did not appear to mind.

In a mirror of her move earlier, the invader attempted to stomp Emerald's head in; she was able to roll out of the way just in time. Getting to her feet, and hurrying several meters away, she released a torrent of green electricity towards her foe. The machine merely held up his arm, absorbing the flow into the metal like a magnet.

"Such poor form!" the robot mocked, laughing. "I sure hope you are not the cream of the crop. Otherwise, this will be easier than I thought!"

"You seriously hope to conquer Homeworld with only one ship?" Emerald hissed.

The robot chuckled in response. "'One ship?' Surely you don't think us so naive! And as for this planet…"

The machine rushed towards Emerald with stunning speed, pinning her against the wall with his forearm.

"...we don't want to conquer it; we want to destroy it. Our mission is to bring Homeworld and Gemkind to their collective knees. This ship? This is only a message-a harbinger of things to come. And come we will. Our armies are endless, our resources vast. We won't stop until we burn this miserable planet to cinders, and every single Gem in the universe is nothing more than dust on my heel. You cannot stop us, Emerald. We are infinite."

"Who...who is 'we?'" Emerald strained.

"Simple. 'We' are Homeworld's reckoning."

With several whirrs and clicks, the robot's left hand shifted into a blaster cannon resembling those of his fellows. Slowly, he pressed it against Emerald's temple.

"Now, let's see you disappear."

With a flash of light, Emerald's body vanished. All that remained was her gemstone, which the robot lifted into his hand.

"Fragile things indeed. Almost too fragile. This won't be any fun if they can't put up a decent fight."

He quietly strolled over to an airlock, opening it up to stare at the Gem city below.

"All of this will be gone soon." He looked at Emerald's Gem. "I hope you survive to see it."

With that, he tossed the gem down towards the devastated city below, regarding it as it fell.

"Although, I suppose it makes no difference if you don't. No matter."

The airlock closed. The bombing of the city ceased. The ship's engines whirred to life, and just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished into the night sky.


	5. Call to Arms

Chapter Five: Call to Arms

* * *

_Homeworld, Capital District. Era 2, Year 1._

It was three days since the unknown entities' attack on Homeworld. It was more than just one ship: four of them had attacked the planet at different locations, before vanishing once they sustained substantial damage. It was as the commander had told Emerald: this was only a message. The actual invasion was yet to come.

Three Gems swiftly walked down a large hallway. Emerald trod forwards with purpose, closely followed by Onyx and Pearl. "This just gets better and better," she muttered to herself. "First we lose the war for Earth, then we get invaded, _then_ I get destabilized, and _now_ I'm late for my meeting!" She now wore a green cape over her left side to conceal her arm, which had not gotten any better.

Fortunately, after Emerald had been dropped from the invaders' ship, she landed on some Ruby's head, no worse for wear. She was then delivered to Onyx, who had been defending a facet of Sapphires from the automatons, where she regenerated the next day.

The group finally reached their destination, a large conference room covered by an equally large door. "You two wait here for me," Emerald said. "With any luck, it won't be long." Onyx and Pearl stood next to several other Gems waiting for their masters.

A pair of yellow Topazes opened the door for Emerald, who entered to find the meeting had already begun. Five Gems were sat at a round table, trying, and failing, to have a civil conversation on Homeworld's next move. The red, pink, yellow, and blue ones all attempted to be heard over one another, while a familiar white one sat silently until she noticed the green Gem enter.

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence!" Goshenite said bitterly. "And here I thought you had been abducted."

"You weren't so lucky," Emerald said under her breath, as she sat down. To the group she said, "I apologize for my tardiness. Now, may we begin for real?"

"Yes, _may we?_" the red Gem asked her comrades. She was slightly bigger than the rest, and dressed entirely in armor, concealing even her face.

"Trust me, Bixbite, we've been wanting to begin for a while now," the yellow Gem responded, massaging her temples. She was dressed in a labcoat, and her short hair covered one of her eyes.

"How long has this been going on?" Emerald whispered to the blue Gem.

"Longer than I would have hoped," she responded. The smallest of her fellows, she was dressed in an aqua-colored kimono. "I had hoped you could talk some sense into them."

"I, for one, am pleased to see you unharmed, dahling!" the pink Gem told Emerald.

"Let us return to the matter at hand!" Goshenite shouted. The other Gems fell silent. She pressed a button on the table in front of her, and a big picture of the enemy ship appeared on a screen. Several chairs rotated to get a better view. "Approximately seventy-six hours ago, Homeworld was besieged by four battleships of unknown origin. These ships assaulted equidistant locations across the planet, before escaping. Damage was contained, but serious to those areas."

"Hmm... one gets the sense they're merely toying with us," the pink Gem responded. This one wore an extravagant ballgown, and had her hair up in three buns, each on top of the other.

"Because that's exactly what they're doing," Emerald interjected. "When I was up there in that ship, that bigger one told me this was only a warning."

"Which tells you that they're coming back!" Bixbite shouted. "Thus, facilitating a preemptive strike!"

"It's always preemptive strikes with you," the yellow Gem complained. "We don't even know _where_ to strike them!"

"Their weak points," Bixbite responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Focus, you ingrates!" Goshenite hissed. "Now, we know they have four of these battleships, but we should assume they have more. This was only a demonstration, after all. We also know the enemy prefers to attack with autonomous units, and prefer to overwhelm us with sheer numbers as opposed to combat ability. Anything to add?"

"Actually, yes," the yellow Gem said. "As a matter of fact, My Diamond gave me access to several previously classified documents regarding these enemies."

"You mean we've encountered them before?" said Emerald. "Heliodor, why didn't you bring this up earlier?"

"Everyone was yelling earlier," the Gem called Heliodor said bashfully. "Anyway, here." She plugged a device into the monitor, and the image of the ship was replaced with a diagram of the mechanical soldiers.

"We call them the Interlopers," Heliodor explained. "We've seen them before, but aside from a few skirmishes here and there, we know next to nothing about how they operate. This is a Scavenger," Heliodor said, indicating the picture. "They are the backbone of the Interlopers' army. As Goshenite said, they prefer quantity over quality."

"Yes. Individually, weak," Bixbite said. "All the more reason to DESTROY THEM ALL AT ONCE!"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!?" Heliodor screamed. "Diamonds almighty, all day with you! Destroy this, exterminate that, I'm sick of it!"

"Now, now," the blue Gem said calmly. She was a Maxixe, a specialized type of Aquamarine. "Let us not devolve into organics." The pink Gem, Morganite, rolled her eyes.

Goshenite held back Heliodor, who eventually calmed down enough to continue. "Hmmph." Pressing a button, the image changed to what appeared to be a metal eyeball floating in space. "This is their base, referred to as the Oculus. All of their forces, their ships, their soldiers, it all comes from inside of this."

"Then that's where we'll attack!" Bixbite shouted. Morganite placed a hand on her shoulder.

Heliodor scowled, but then took a deep breath, and continued. "We can't. A direct offense on the Oculus is extremely ill-advised, as it is approximately point-nine-seven times the size of Homeworld."

"Tha-that thing's a _planet_?" Emerald said, shocked. Everyone else sat in stunned silence.

Heliodor continued, "Indeed, but that isn't the worst of it: hyper-light scanners have indicated that it is a few galaxies away, and slowly making its way in Homeworld's direction. It will arrive in a matter of decades."

Bixbite didn't speak up. For that matter, the other Gems were still silent as well. It was Goshenite who finally broke the silence. "Right...well, we need a plan. Any ideas?"

"I have a few," a familiar sounding voice said.

All six Gems whirled around: a figure floated ominously into the room, sporting a serene smile and a crack over her eye. White Diamond's Pearl.

"M-my Diamond!" Goshenite shouted. She stood up to salute, and the others followed suit. "How may I b-be of service?"

White Pearl, completely under her owner's control, floated closer. "My sisters and I have been discussing a course of action. This new enemy is outside of our current means to destroy, although Yellow's Cluster Program could prove indispensable to our efforts. Care to elaborate, Science Minister Heliodor?"

"Of course, Your Magnificence," the yellow Gem said. "The previous Science Minister was directly involved in the Cluster Program, so I've been given access to her notes. In a few thousand years, we should have a geo-weapon capable of destroying the Oculus."

"We don't _have_ a few thousand years!" Goshenite said. "My Diamond, there has to be a faster solution!"

White Pearl slowly turned towards her. "You stand here before me, on the eve of my sister's death, and dare to lecture me about the judgement of the Diamonds?" she said, her voice never raising, her smile never faltering. Goshenite turned even whiter than she already was. She shrunk into herself, looking like she wanted to sprint from the room.

White Pearl turned to the rest of the group. "Until the Cluster has emerged, each of you will be given an assignment to assist in the prevention of further attacks. Invasion Overseer Bixbite will be in charge of a direct assault on the Oculus."

The red Gem was much less excited than she was before. "Yes, Your Brilliance."

"You will attempt to prevent the Interlopers from advancing as best as you can. Grand Spymaster Maxixe will monitor Interloper activity inside Homeworld's galaxy."

The blue Gem nodded in affirmation.

"Science Minister Heliodor will continue to research the Interlopers to find potential weaknesses."

"It will be done, Your Clarity."

"Information Keeper Morganite, keep this crisis under wraps. Downplay the danger the Interlopers present amongst the general populace."

"Without hesitation, Your Magnificence!"

"Supreme General Goshenite, you will defend Homeworld in the event of another attack."

Goshenite saluted, but did not look the Pearl in the eye. "Absolutely, My Diamond."

"Lastly, Supreme Admiral Emerald will patrol Gem-controlled space to eliminate any and all threats."

"Your Brilliance," Emerald responded, "All due respect, but my Diamond-"

"I've no concern what Yellow has or has not told you," White said. She addressed the group as a whole. "I trust you will perform your tasks admirably. Homeworld and Gemkind are counting on you." With that, her Pearl floated upwards, phasing through the wall, leaving the group in silence.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Onyx asked as Emerald exited the room. The meeting adjourned, the elite Gems slowly trickled out and went their own ways,

"Not so good," Emerald responded. "I'll fill you in later, but these machines are much more of a threat than we first thought."

Morganite stepped out behind Emerald. "Goodness, the hostility in there was simply palpable! I'm surprised those ruffians didn't destabilize each other!"

"Agreed," Emerald snarked. Pearl stood just behind her back, catching Morganite's eye.

"Oh, Emerald, you didn't tell me you got a Pearl!" Morganite gushed. "Why, she's simply precious! Just look at that luster, how positively divine!" She examined Pearl's wardrobe, before moving on to stroking her hair. Pearl seemed surprised at first, but was clearly enjoying the attention.

"Oh, no, I don't own her," Emerald quickly explained. "She just stays with me until we can find her a proper owner.

Morganite continued to cuddle the Pearl. "Well, I wouldn't mind taking care of the sweetheart! She's certainly much more well-behaved than mine. I swear, _that_ Pearl has more respect for that Ruby she's always staring at than me!"

Goshenite emerged from the room. "So, Emerald, I hear you've got yourself an obedient Pearl! Glad one of you knows how to follow orders! You could learn from her."

"She isn't mine," Emerald said, irritated.

"Just as well," Goshenite said, walking away. "You'd probably set her free anyways. Come along, Topaz."

A hulking blood-red Topaz, her gem on her stomach, turned to follow Goshenite. She looked back towards Emerald and Onyx; Her eyes were hidden behind a visor, but she seemed to be silently judging everyone and everything. She grinned at Onyx as she walked away, to which the latter returned a scowl.

"Hm. I get the feeling she doesn't like you very much," Pearl said quietly.

Morganite chuckled. "Such a perceptive little thing! Though, it's not as if your little rivalry is a secret. Anyhow, good luck on your new mission, dahling!" She walked away, waving.

"You as well," Emerald said. "Come on, you two, let's get back to the ship. We have work to do."


	6. Taking Flight

Chapter Six: Taking Flight

* * *

_Capital District, Docking Bay 12._

Onyx sat silently by herself in the docking bay, tapping on her knee. She was waiting for Emerald, who was getting several upgrades to her ship. Several other Gems walked about here and there, to and from their ships. One of them was Tanzanite.

"Are you attempting to activate your leg?" she asked.

Onyx laughed. "With you, I can never tell if you're joking or not," she said, looking up.

"Upgrades on the _Soul Evaporator_ are underway," Tanzanite said. "Emerald will return shortly, and we will begin to patrol the galaxy for threats." Tanzanite sat down beside Onyx.

A few minutes passed in awkward silence, until Onyx asked the question everyone was thinking: "What are they?"

Tanzanite looked up. "That is a very broad query. To which 'they' are you referring to? There are numerous 'theys.'"

Onyx rolled her eyes. "I meant the robots, you robot! The-what did Emerald call them?-Interlopers!" Onyx stood up and began pacing. "Where did they come from, and why do they want to destroy us? I figured of every Gem I know, you'd have the most theories."

Tanzanite stood up as well. "I have had neither the time nor the evidence to theorize an origin to our enemy."

"Well, might as well start now," the larger Gem said.

Both thought for a moment. Eventually, Tanzanite said, "Given their history with the Gem species, I surmise it is most likely that they perceive Gemkind as a threat. Their direct assault on Homeworld suggests a desire to eliminate said threat. With all that has been displayed by the Interloper race thus far, I am lead to conclude that they are competing with Gemkind for resources."

Onyx nodded. "That's a real mouthful, but it makes sense. Crack, I just realized something! Do you think that these guys are behind this whole resource crisis thing?"

"That is a very likely theory," Tanzanite responded. "Planets inhabited with suitable amounts of organic life have been increasingly hard to come by for several decades now, about the same time the reports mention Interlopers first being sighted. It is very likely they are colonizing these planets."

"And that's why they want to destroy us," Onyx added. "To have all those planets to themself! Which makes destroying them even more necessary than it was before!"

"Their destruction is indeed crucial to the Gem Empire's continued existence," Tanzanite said, just as Emerald approached.

* * *

Emerald, Pearl, and a Peridot stood on an observation deck, overlooking the _Soul Evaporator_, which several more Peridots and Bismuths were busy repairing and upgrading. The ship looked unchanged from the outside, though its capabilities had been dramatically improved.

"So," Emerald said to the Peridot, "give me a run-down on the _Soul_'s new features.

The Peridot produced a holoscreen. "I have been wanting to do so for some time, My Emerald! I've prepared a slideshow just for the occasion!"

The first several upgrades were simply some minor improvements to the weapons and propulsion systems, the Peridot's explanations of such which made Pearl cock her head to the side in confusion. It was the final addition that the technician was the most excited about, however.

"And if you thought _those_ were impressive, just wait: Behold! The coup de grace!"

On her holoscreen appeared an image of an hourglass-shaped piece of technology that meant nothing to Pearl, though Emerald seemed to recognize it somewhat.

"Hold on," Emerald said, "is that a new hyperdrive? I though the propulsion was already covered."

"Oh, this is more than propulsion!" the Peridot said excitedly. "This beautiful little piece of technological brilliance is what we in the business refer to as a 'warp drive!' The way it works is, it harnesses the power of dark matter to warp (hence the name) space in such a way that the ship it powers is able tooo…"

"...Travel at faster-than-light speeds," Emerald finished, clearly impressed.

"Bingo!" the Peridot shouted. We've been trying to perfect this technology for some time now, and we only recently made _this_ baby. Yellow Diamond felt like this was the perfect time to break it in, considering those bags of bolts have something similar in _their_ ships."

Emerald thought of how the ships had been said to vanish after their assault was finished. "It's certainly good to have a way to pursue them if they try it again. Or to escape, if necessary."

In the midst of their conversation, a Citrine approached. "My Emerald, upgrades are complete! We're ready for takeoff at your command."

Emerald nodded. "Very well. Peridot, have the specs downloaded to the _Evaporator_'s database." The green Gem saluted before running off. "Citrine, tell all personnel to board. We leave immediately."

Emerald, Pearl at her side, strolled past Onyx and Tanzanite. "You two, get ready for takeoff immediately." Both Gems saluted.

* * *

Before long, the _Soul Evaporator_'s crew had returned to their posts. All Gems back in position, the antigrav generators whirred to life, and with a deep thrumming, the massive starship ascended out of Homeworld's atmosphere and into the depths of space. The whirring increased in intensity, as did the ship's speed. Before long, Homeworld had become a tiny speck in the distance to the dreadnought's crew. After a while, the ship came to rest amongst a field of asteroids.

Emerald sat in her captain's chair, giving orders to her crew. "Keep all communications channels open. If any outposts or colonies are attacked, we have to know about it. Weapons systems active just in case, and keep the warp drive warm. We should be ready to jump at a moment's notice.

As Gems on the bridge scanned the cosmos for transmissions, Onyx approached her commander. "So, Emerald, me and Tanz were discussing something earlier, and I was wondering if we could have your input on the matter."

Emerald shrugged. "I suppose. It may be awhile before anything happens out here. What is it you were discussing?"

"Onyx had a query regarding the Interlopers," Tanzanite chimed in. "She and I exchanged theories regarding their motives for attacking Homeworld."

"Well, what did you come up with?" asked Emerald.

Onyx spoke. "We decided that they compete with us for resources. I also thought that they're the reason it's been so hard to find good planets to colonize lately."

Their commander nodded. "I see. It certainly sounds reasonable. If that's the conclusion you came to, what did you need my input for?"

Onyx looked like she was about to say something, but her blue compatriot cut her off. "Onyx believed that this conclusion is lacking in a more direct motive. She realized, correctly, I might add, that a mere rivalry did not warrant such a bold siege on Gemkind's most heavily-fortified territory. She believes, as she put it, that their reasons are 'personal.'"

Emerald regarded this statement. "I suppose so," she said. "To be honest, I hadn't given it much thought. But this all begs the question: who would have such an extreme vendetta against Homeworld?"

"Homeworld has colonized numerous planets over the eons," added Tanzanite. "Perhaps some of the local organics were not as extinguished as was previously thought. After all, few things are more personal than revenge."

"You really think so?" said Onyx. Emerald, however, brushed off the notion.

"That doesn't seem likely to me," she said. "None of the planets we've ever colonized had sentient life yet, let alone space travel. We would know if we colonized a planet with sentients on it, right?"

"Normally I would agree with you, My Emerald," said Tanzanite, "but until mere days ago, we were unaware of the Interlopers, despite previous encounters. Perhaps the Diamonds hold yet more secrets."

The three Gems (plus Pearl) pondered this, but the conversation did not continue, lest it devolve from harmless speculation into outright treason. After several hours of waiting, the _Evaporator_ received its first distress call.

"My Emerald, emergency transmission received!" a Peridot reported. "Research station Helix is under assault by Interloper forces!"

"All hands, prepare for warp jump!" Emerald said. With that, the personnel began jump procedures. The warp drive glowed with brilliant white light, sparks flying between panels on its sides. Inside its core, gravity was compressed to the degree that a tiny black hole was formed in its center.

"Deploying photon membrane," a Peridot reported. A shield formed around the ship's hull, enveloping it perfectly, like a protective bubble. "Coordinates set. Ready to jump on your mark, My Emerald."

"Now," Emerald said. Once the warp drive was activated, a tunnel of nebulous colors and spirals appeared in front of the ship, visible only to those within it. To those viewing from afar, it would appear as though the ship began to glow, until it was far too bright to see. With one last flash of light and an echoing wave, the _Soul Evaporator_ had vanished to far-off stars.


	7. Assault on Helix Station

Chapter Seven: Assault on Helix Station

* * *

_Hyperspace, en route to research station Helix._

If there was one thing that bothered Emerald more than all else about her arm, it was that the darn thing itched like crazy. Ever since it had first been changed into its current form, Emerald had been struck by sudden pangs of the agonizing sensation, forcing her to scratch her arm like there was no tomorrow. Fortunately, nobody had noticed due to her new cape.

Emerald was in the midst of a scratching fit when the _Soul Evaporator_ exited hyperspace. Just before the ship was the station they had received the distress call from. However, no ships, Gem or Interloper, was nearby aside from the _Soul_ itself. Another message came in, a distressed light red Zircon on the other end.

"Thank the stars you've arrived!" she said. "Those horrible things just showed up out of nowhere! They just disappeared before you showed up, but we're worried they'll come back!"

"Calm down, Zircon," Emerald said. "I'm sending a team inside. Stay where you are, and I'll talk to you in a moment." The transmission cut out, and Emerald got to her feet. "Citrines 1KI through 2AW to the warp pads. Onyx, on me."

The Gems began to move, with Pearl walking up to Emerald, who held up her arm. "No, you stay here. That Zircon was right, the Interlopers might come back. You'll be safer on the ship."

"Yes, Emerald," Pearl said, looking slightly troubled. The squadron of Gems teleported over to the station. The sight was not pretty. The place looked like it had been ransacked, with holes shot in the walls and floor, some still glowing with heat. As they walked further into the station, several Gems emerged from their hiding places. The same Zircon from earlier came running towards them.

"Oh, Emerald!" she said, out of breath. "It was utter chaos! They took out all the Carnelians guarding us first, and then they just started ransacking the place! Then their ships all vanished just before you showed up! We don't even know what they wanted!"

"Okay, slow down now," Emerald said. "I need you to think: do you have any idea why they attacked this station?"

"No, it doesn't make sense!" said the Zircon. "All they do here is research on organics! This isn't something they would want!"

Emerald turned to her soldiers. "All units, fan out and search the area. Report back if anything is missing, or if any Gems are unaccounted for." The Citrines did just that.

Onyx crossed her arms. "I'm not so sure about this. Why did the Interlopers just bail before we showed up? How did they know we were coming?"

Emerald shook her head. "Maybe they got what they came here for."

The trio was shocked by a sudden bang, eliciting a shriek from the Zircon, who hid behind Onyx. The source of the sound appeared to be an Interloper that had fallen from a hole in the ceiling. It wasn't moving and was covered in gashes, presumably from the Carnelians.

The group approached the fallen automaton. Onyx investigated it, while Emerald peered into the hole above them. She shone a light from her Gem into the blackness, revealing that the Interloper was not alone.

"Or maybe," she whispered, "what they wanted came here."

Emerald dove away at the last moment, a flurry of lasers narrowly missing her. More of the machines poured out from crevasses in the walls and ceiling. The same troopers Emerald had seen on Homeworld were present in large numbers, in addition to several of a new, slightly larger model. They were bulkier than their cousins, with a bigger gun to match.

"Ambush! Hit the deck!" Onyx yelled. She pushed the Zircon to the ground, summoning her weapon: a gigantic hammer. Black, one end of the head had a silver face shaped like Onyx's gemstone, while the other end had a rocket booster and three fins, giving the appearance of a rocketship with a handle. She charged at the Interlopers to one side, smashing them to pieces with this hammer.

Emerald ran down the other end of the hallway, slashing through the Interlopers with her blade. "Stay here, I'm going to find my crew!" she yelled to the Zircon. As she ran past some windows, she saw several Interloper battleships materializing with waves of energy. They had vanished, as Zircon had said, though they hadn't warped away; they had cloaked, and were floating beside the station the whole time.

One of the bigger units came into Emerald's view. It charged up its weapon, and she attempted to bisect it before it fired. As she leapt into midair, its cannon discharged before she could hit it, the force of the shot sending her flying backwards.

"Urg...close range, got it," she muttered to herself, pained from the impact. Several more Interlopers approached to fire on her crumpled form, though she stunned them with a blast of electricity before they got the chance. She sliced them apart, grabbing at the big one with her affected arm.

As she saw her arm exit from behind her cape, she found that somehow, it had mutated further. She got a closer look at it after the robot was out of commission: from her wrist had sprouted what appeared to be coarse green hairs, almost like pine needles. "This just gets weirder and weirder," she murmured. She continued running down the hallways of the station until she reached the main hall, where several figures waited for her.

"Well, if it isn't my good friend Emerald! I had a feeling you had survived our last meeting. I can't say I'm not disappointed." It was the same robotic figure Emerald had encountered back on Homeworld. A Peridot was held tightly in his grip, attempting to escape.

Three other Interlopers stood next to him: One was absolutely massive, easily as big as Onyx. It was hunched over, too, so it was probably even taller. Another was similar in size to Emerald, standing straight up with its hands behind its back. Although it had no facial expressions, it _exuded_ smugness. The last was on all fours, its hands clawed, and its head darting around erratically like an insect.

"You!" Emerald shouted, presenting her blade. "What is it you want here?"

The being released his grip on the Peridot, who scrambled to the side. He began strolling to the side like a predator stalking its prey. "I just wanted a chance to see my good friend again! Think of it as a surprise party. _Surprise_!"

Emerald charged at him, only to be blindsided by the giant one, knocking her to the floor. The other two Interlopers laughed.

"I'd say that about covers everything," their apparent leader said. "Omnulus, would you be a pal and _crush this obstacle_, please? We have a schedule." With that, the three Interlopers strolled through the door at the other side of the room. Emerald ran after them, but the titanic mechanoid, whose name was apparently Omnulus, threw her against the wall with a swipe of its hand.

As Emerald lay on the ground, Omnulus slowly loped towards her on its knuckles, emitting a low growl. "You think I'm that weak?" Emerald said. In response, Omnulus raised his arms above his head, with Emerald rolling out of the way of his smash at the last moment. She pumped several thousand volts of electricity into the beast, but he only staggered a moment.

Omnulus charged at Emerald, who leapt onto the giant, stabbing him again and again, tearing at him with her clawed hand. Each wound did nothing to slow down the massive machine, which slammed Emerald into the wall. It then threw her another wall, where she crumpled into a heap. He began slowly walking towards her.

"Pow...er...less," he said with a growling voice. "Now... you...DIE!" He prepared to slam his massive fists into Emerald.

"Hammer _down_!" Onyx yelled. She slammed her hammer into Omnulus, throwing him off balance. The large Gem continued to wale on him with her rocket hammer, though he recovered enough to grab it. The two of them grappled back and forth as several Citrines entered beginning to swarm Omnulus, with Emerald joining them.

Omnulus looked ragged now, but was fighting on regardless. "What does it take to _kill_ this thing!?" Onyx wondered aloud.

"I have an idea," Emerald said. "Get out of the way when I say 'now.'"

"Roger," Onyx said. Omnulus had thrown most of the Citrines aside, growling ferociously at Onyx. The two sprinted towards each other, slamming together with a tremendous impact. Each threw punches at the other, each one creating a shockwave as it connected. Omnulus was still going strong, While Onyx was beginning to reach her limit.

Meanwhile, Emerald was climbing the wall behind them using her claws and blade to dig into the material. Once she reached a height she decided was enough, she closed her eyes, calling forth a power from deep within her. Her entire body became wreathed in electrical energy. She leapt from the wall.

"NOW!" she yelled. Onyx dodged to the side. Emerald shot through the sky like a bullet, a streak of green barrelling towards and through Omnulus. When Emerald reached the ground, crouched on one knee, Omnulus stood behind her, a massive hole burned through his chest. The Interloper fell to his knees, his glowing eyes fading to a dull red. At last, he was still.

Emerald stood up, still crackling with static. "_That's_ how you kill it," she said.

The Citrines picked themselves up after the large battle. Emerald radioed the _Soul Evaporator_, but it was not Tanzanite who responded, but Pearl. "My Diamond! Is everything alright, My Emerald, are you okay?" Those ships suddenly appeared, and...You're okay, right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. We're all fine," Emerald reassured her. Onyx was attempting to get her attention about something. "I need to speak with Tanzanite, can you give the commun-"

Her sentence was cut off when a large object collided with her from behind. Said object was Omnulus' fist, who was still alive despite the hole in his chest. The gigantic Interloper roared with rage as he ran to hit Emerald again.

"YOU...NEVER...WIN!" he bellowed. "GEMS...ALL...DIE!" Onyx attempted to contain him, but he knocked her down with a backhand.

Emerald tried to sneak up behind him. But he whirled around and grabbed her in his massive fist. He brought her close to his face.

"Gems...all...die."

Before Omnulus could act on his threat, a tremendous explosion shook the room. A projectile had collided with him, sending him across the room in several different directions. His head rolled to a stop along the floor, as his eyes faded to black.

Emerald dusted herself off, having taken some of the impact. On the other end of the room stood the Peridot from earlier. Evidently she had been to the hangar, as she was dragging a cannon almost as big as she was.

"That...that's how you kill it," she said, out of breath.


	8. Enemies

Chapter Eight: Enemies

* * *

_Research Station Helix._

"There you go, Tanz, that should have some data for ya," Onyx said. She plopped the severed head of an Interloper at the blue Gem's feet. Tanzanite held her hand out over it as her fingers extended, snaking their way like cables into cracks and holes in the metal. Her eyes began to flash with the information she was absorbing.

At the other end of the station, they had another guest. A trio of ships had arrived in the wake of the raid. The largest of them was white, rectangular in shape, and had two massive cannons on its wings. This was the _Xenocide_, and it belonged to none other than Supreme General Goshenite.

The white Gem walked from the warp pad, flanked by a pair of Milky Quartzes and Red Topaz. An Interloper that had survived the counterattack dragged itself towards her. She pulled out her staff and speared it without so much as a glance.

"Why is it that whenever something goes wrong in this empire, I always find you at the epicenter?" Goshenite asked, regarding Emerald. The Peridot from earlier was talking to her about the invasion. As always, Pearl stood by her side, closer than usual this time.

"Goshenite," Emerald said as politely as she could muster. "Perhaps it's because I prefer to solve problems rather than just mopping up the damages."

This remark was somewhat literal in this case, as Goshenite had brought a team of Bismuths with her to repair the station.

Goshenite shook her head, laughing lightly. "If I believed in luck, I'd say you were bad luck. Since I know better, I've half a mind to think you're involved somehow."

Emerald had been ignoring Goshenite in favor of conversing with Peridot, but this remark caused her to turn around. "Are you accusing me of being a traitor?"

Over with Onyx and Tanzanite, the latter retracted her fingers from the head. "There is no relevant information here, only basic operational data," she said. "Tactical plans are most likely stored elsewhere." Onyx grumbled, heading off to retrieve the rest of the Interloper.

Goshenite chuckled. "Accusing you? Oh, I wouldn't dare! Especially not Emerald, Supreme Admiral of Homeworld! Not Emerald," her eyes narrowed, "known Crystal Gem sympathizer." Peridot, seeing where this conversation was headed, excused herself to join Emerald's cohorts by the monitor.

Emerald bared her teeth. Her left hand clenched beneath her cape. "I told you all before, just because I respect their motives does _not_ mean I agree with their methods."

"Oh, of course not!" Goshenite cried. "Why would Emerald, a known advocate for Off-Colors and organics have _any_ reason to side with Rose Quartz?"

It was all Emerald could do to avoid brandishing her blade. "I have been nothing but loyal to Homeworld for my entire life! Besides, the war for Earth is over, no let's not dwell, shall we?"

Onyx had brought the rest of the Interloper to Tanzanite, who was downloading its data into herself.

Goshenite crept closer to Emerald. "You're dangerous, you know that? You can't keep advocating for these disgusting creatures without somebody thinking that maybe, possibly, you just might be one of them. Am I close?"

Emerald hid her right arm behind her back. "It isn't their fault how they're made, Goshenite. Ever heard of a neat little concept called empathy?"

Her rival scowled. "You want to talk about empathy? Empathy is the exact opposite of what we need right now! Empathy is how those...those _void-spawns_ rust our empire to oblivion from the inside out! Empathy is the enemy!"

Meanwhile, Tanzanite had apparently found some relevant data, which she had begun to upload to the computer. "Hey Mera!" Onyx called. "We got something over here!"

Goshenite and Red Topaz evidently found this hilarious. "It calls you 'Mera!?'"

"Yes, _she_ does," said Emerald, irritated. "Even though I've asked her not to…" she added under her breath.

"Okay, you have fun with your friends, _Mera_, but I have some important, Homeword-sanctioned duties to attend to." The pair walked in opposite directions. "Oh, and Emerald?" She turned around.

"How's the arm?"

Emerald was taken aback. "H-how did-what-"

Goshenite chuckled. "Don't think I didn't see you hiding your gem behind your back! No need to be ashamed!" With her entire group laughing, Goshenite and company teleported back to the _Xenocide_, leaving Emerald grumbling to herself.

"M-my Emerald? I-I mean Emerald?" Pearl asked. "When she called you a 'Crystal Gem sympathizer'...did she mean that?"

Emerald sighed. "Pearl, I won't pretend that some Gems out there don't have it rough. They had good reason to be upset with how they were treated; they just took it too far."

Peridot was examining the data Tanzanite had harvested from the fallen Interloper. "Well, My Emerald," she said, "it looks like tactical plans and battlefield locations are deleted as soon as the unit is disabled. Pretty useful to them, pretty inconvenient for us."

"Is there anything we can still use?" asked Emerald.

"Oh, there's plenty," replied Peridot. "Right here are some files about the different troopers they deploy. So, these basic troops are called 'Scavengers,' right?" She gestured to the decapitated robot lying on the ground. Emerald nodded. "Well, the heavier units we saw here today are called 'Predators.' They have tougher armor, and a more powerful blaster, though it is shorter range."

Emerald nodded. "I'm familiar with _that_ factoid."

She continued. "The files also mention 'Raptors,' which appear to be airborne units, and something called a 'Carnivore,' but there's no data on that last one. Must be fairly new."

"What about their leadership?" Tanzanite asked.

"Right, well, those big four 'bots you saw earlier? Those are the Oculus' Generals. They're the ones in charge of the whole operation."

"So, who are we up against?" Emerald asked.

"That big one I ki-we killed earlier was called 'Omnulus.' He led the charge against Gem fleets. Actually, you struck a major blow against the Interlopers by taking him down."

"Yeah we did!" said Onyx proudly.

"Then there's that wiry one, with the claws. His name is 'Glithenes,' and he-Oh, stars. He's in charge of executing prisoners. This is some gruesome stuff."

Peridot collected herself. "Anyway, next up is 'Pythoriax.' Actually, it doesn't say what he does here. Odd."

Emerald shrugged. "Maybe he's just a placeholder, or something."

"Maybe. Last up is 'Melvirius.' He's the quad's de facto leader, and is also behind the assaults on Gem-controlled territories. If we take him out, that just might be it for the Interlopers. At the very least, it should cripple their efforts."

"We can hope so," said Emerald. "I just wish it were that easy."

Peridot turned around. "Oh, that's right, you've tangled with this one before. How did it go?"

Emerald averted her eyes. "I don't think I'll be able to defeat him one-on-one," she muttered.

"That's fancy talk for sayin' she lost," Onyx teased, earning a glare from Emerald.

"Alright, enough witty banter. All of you, back to the ship. I'll be there in a minute." Tanzanite, Onyx, and Pearl all headed back to the _Soul Evaporator_, while Emerald looked over the data.

"M-my Emerald," Peridot said hesitantly, "I...I don't mean to pry, but…"

"But what?" said Emerald.

"It's just…I saw your arm." Emerald looked surprised for a moment, then almost disappointed. "May I see it?"

Emerald moved her cape aside. "Tell no one," she said sternly, before revealing her mutation.

Peridot stared at the appendage. "I-I've never seen anything like this."

"What else is new?" Emerald said sarcastically.

"I should run some tests. How long has it been like this? Does it hurt? Is it spreading? You're sure nobody else is affected, right?"

"Peridot, will you please? Whatever you're doing, do it quick, I have places to be."

"Of course, My Emerald, this will only take a moment." Peridot grabbed Emerald's afflicted arm, which was disagreeable to the latter.

"Don't touch it!" she snarled, attempting to break free of Peridot's grip.

"I told you, I just need some scans!"

"As your commander, I order you...to let...me _go!_" As Emerald yanked her arm away from Peridot, several projectiles flew from it. The hair from her wrist had hardened into spines, which shot away due to the momentum, embedding themselves in the wall.

"Huh," Emerald said breathlessly. "That's new."

"My Emerald...may I?"

Emerald agreed. Having taken some scans of her arm and her gemstone, Peridot turned to her. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"

Emerald peered beneath her cape, which she had put back on. In addition to the new spines, the skinniness of her mutation had completely overtaken her forearm, and was now creeping towards her shoulder. "Yes. It is."

"I'll look over the scans," Peridot said, "and I'll see if I can find anything to help you. Until then, we'll continue on as normal."

"Indeed we will," Emerald said. "Just make sure this thing doesn't get out. I'd rather not cause a panic, or be experimented on."

"Of course, My Emerald. It will be our little secret."

Scratching her arm, Emerald headed down the hallways towards the warp pad, and disappeared.

Peridot looked over the scans she had taken. "Thiiis may take a while…" she said to herself.


	9. New Leads

Chapter Nine: New Leads

* * *

_Leceus-9._

It had been three months since Emerald's last battle at research station Helix. Countless battles had been fought since then, and it seemed Homeworld was no closer to winning this war than when it started. If anything, the Interlopers were winning. Emerald tried not to think about it too much, focusing only on winning her next fight. Worse still, her arm only continued to worsen, the spines now growing longer.

Emerald was currently speaking to Yellow Diamond and several of the Council of Beryls via holoscreen. Bixbite was giving a status report on the frontlines. "As much as I hate to admit it, these machines are proving more of a threat than I initially expected," the red Gem explained. "No matter how many of them we cut down, how many of their ships we destroy, more of them show up. They're built faster than we can crush them, Y-er, My Diamond."

Yellow Diamond could only shake her head in frustration. "And the Oculus? Have you had any success in holding it back?"

"Not much, I'm sorry to say, My Diamond," Bixbite continued. "Stellar blockades have been set up, but they prove ineffective. It's quite difficult to hold back an object the size of a planet, you understand, My Di-"

"What I _understand_ is that we have neither the soldiers nor the firepower to resist an attack from that battle station should it reach Homeworld. Once the Oculus reaches its destination, this war is lost. If our empire as we know it survives after this, you will be held responsible. Is that clear?"

Bixbite gulped loudly. "I understand, My Diamond."

Heliodor piped up. "Might I suggest orbital bombardment? Collisions from other celestial bodies might be enough to slow its advance until the Cluster emerges."

"That may work," said Yellow. "Invasion Overseer Bixbite, you have my authority to proceed."

"Yes, My Diamond. By my estimates, we should be able to-" Bixbite was cut off by a distant explosion on her end. "They're storming the outpost! I have to go take care of this-_Adamantem In Eternum_!" A double-headed battle axe appeared in Bixbite's hand before the feed cut out.

One by one, each of the Council of Beryls had given her status report. Once Heliodor had given an update on Interloper physiology-no useful data, unfortunately-only Emerald was left, alone with Yellow Diamond.

"No serious damage has been done yet, My Diamond," she said. "Their attacks within the galaxy thus far have all been on small outposts and research stations-nowhere that would give them a tactical advantage. One gets the sense they're looking for something specific."

"They're searching for weaknesses," explained Yellow. "I've been in enough wars to recognize that. Homeworld is in a weakened state because of Earth, weaker than we've ever been before. Blue is a wreck, and White hasn't left her ship since she heard the news. They're trying to find a way to use that against us."

Emerald nodded. "I'm sorry, My Diamond. About...well, it must be so hard for you now that...you know."

Yellow Diamond glared at her screen. "Do not pretend to understand our pain." She terminated the feed, leaving Emerald truly alone. That is, until the door behind her slid open, and Pearl stepped through.

She peered around nervously. "Is it safe to come in now?"

Emerald smiled, gesturing for her to come closer. "Of course it's safe. I wanted you to wait outside because of Yellow Diamond, that's all. She's been really touchy about Pink Diamond lately, so I figured seeing a Pearl made specifically for her might upset her just a bit."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Emerald," said Pearl, standing besides Emerald's chair. "I never got to meet Pink Diamond, but I imagine she was quite wonderful."

"I only met her once, a long time ago," Emerald said. "She was so excited by the tiniest things. Everything seemed to bring her joy. It's no wonder everybody who knew her is devastated, the other Diamonds especially."

"Have you ever lost anyone?" Pearl asked.

Emerald nodded. "More than I can count. I lost hundreds of Gems I loved during the Earth War. When one is so closely involved in war as I am, the Gems around you tend to just...disappear. I have to live with the possibility that every Quartz who serves me, every Ruby, and Peridot, and Jade, could one day leave on an assignment and not return. The other Emeralds call me too sentimental, but I don't care. I can't help but grow attached to the Gems under my command. You are certainly a testament to that." Emerald reached over and stroked Pearl's hair, causing her to smile.

"My Emerald?" asked Pearl. "May I ask you something?"

"You just have," Emerald said. "And just 'Emerald' is fine. Go ahead."

"That's actually what I wanted to ask about," Pearl said, wringing her hands. "You know how just about every Gem who sees us assumes that I belong to you?" Emerald responded in the affirmative. "Well, ever since the day you rescued me, I've felt-the best I can describe it is safe, when I'm with you. Almost my entire life I've been scared, but I feel comforted when I'm by your side. I think...I think I want you to be My Emerald."

Emerald stared at her. "Are you sure? You were made for a Diamond, you could live a much more luxurious life! Plus, our colors don't even match."

"I'm sure of it," said Pearl. "I've never been surer of anything in my life."

"You do realize your life has been less than a year long now, right?" Emerald teased.

Pearl grinned. "I know, but still. I know I could live a life of luxury, but I don't care if it means I get to stay with you."

"So...you like me that much, huh?" Emerald was honestly surprised. She knew Pearl liked her, but she had no idea she cared enough about her to want to stay. For her to be Her Emerald. Pearl nodded. "Even with all the fighting and war?" Pearl nodded again. "Are you sure? I could set you up with a much less dangerous life. Morganite really seemed to like you…" For a third time, Pearl nodded.

"There's no one I'd rather belong to than you."

Emerald smiled. She patted her leg, gesturing for Pearl to join her on her seat. Pearl hopped up onto Emerald's lap, happily resting her head on the latter's chest. The pair proceeded to cuddle for some time, when Emerald asked a question that had been on her mind for a while.

"Pearl...are you okay with just being an item to be owned? Would you rather live your own life?"

She seemed confused by the question. "Why do you ask?"

"Remember what I said back at the research station? I said that a lot of Gems lead a pretty rough life. I've seen a lot of Pearls, both Crystal Gem and otherwise, who were very unhappy with their lot in life. I was just wondering if you wanted something more."

Pearl cocked her head to the side. "But isn't against Homeworld's rules to be something different?"

"I'm not asking if you want to break the rules," Emerald explained. "I'm asking if you're unhappy with your situation."

The pink Gem thought for a moment. "You know, I understand why a lot of Pearls would be unhappy. Were their owners mistreating them?"

Emerald nodded. "Yes, ignoring them, treating them like walking shelves, that sort of thing." Emerald shook her head. "If there's one thing I will never understand, it's Gems who abuse their Pearl. You've been given this glorious symbol of your status, and the first thing you do is _beat_ her when she says something you don't like!"

"I don't think I'll ever have to worry about that with you, My Emerald," Pearl said, snuggling up to her.

"So, you're okay with it?" Emerald asked. Pearl nodded once again.

"Some Pearls may not like being owned, but I think it will be just fine, as long as I'm with you!" she said.

Relieved that she was not forcing Pearl into an unhappy life, Emerald stroked her hair once more. "Do you remember what I told you when we got back from Earth?" she asked.

"Hugging is encouraged!" Pearl cried enthusiastically, embracing Emerald.

"Hugging is encouraged," Emerald repeated.

Their moment of bonding was undercut when the monitor buzzed as a transmission was received. Somewhat irritated, Emerald answered it as Pearl slid off her and stood at her side. An image of a Peridot, the same one Emerald had met at the research station, appeared on the screen.

"Peridot!" cried Emerald, somewhat surprised to see her. "What took you so long? Please tell me you have some good news."

"A bit of good and bad, I'm afraid," said the Peridot. "I looked over your scans Diamonds know how many times, and I couldn't tell you how it happened. It looks like not only has your GNA mutated, but whatever did this seems to be causing emotional and mental imbalances as well. Have you noticed any of those?"

"No, not yet," said Emerald. "But that sounds a bit worrisome. Do you at least have any way of reversing it?"

Peridot cringed. "I'm sorry My Emerald, but no. I scoured the databanks, and I couldn't find anything like this. We can't fix this without learning more about it first."

Emerald was understandably irritated. "So, you're telling me that, after looking at this for, what, a few months, you still don't know any more than I did when it first happened!?"

"_But_," Peridot interrupted, "I do have some good news. As I was looking through the records, I found someone who might be able to help you…"

"Finally, a Gem who knows what to do," Emerald said. "So, where do I find her?"

"Actually," Peridot explained, "he's a Valurian, not a Gem."


	10. Tenrit

Chapter Ten: Tenrit

* * *

_Skies over Valuris._

Despite its dislike of organic life as a whole, Gemkind maintained reluctant trade relations with several other spacefaring races. They received plastics and polymers from the Gaorans, the Var'kell traded in cloth and fabrics, and plasmatic energy cores were only manufactured by the New Talutar Collective. The Valurians were also trade partners with Homeworld, as they provided the moscovium necessary for near-lightspeed travel. The particular Valurian Emerald and company were headed to meet was known among his people as a Gem fanatic, though he was nevertheless very knowledgeable on the race

Emerald, Pearl, and Tanzanite descended towards the planet's surface in a small transport ship. As they passed through the cloud barrier, they saw a city filled with lights beneath them, illuminated by the low evening sun. This metropolis, however, would not be their destination, as their craft flew towards an observatory atop a mountain some several miles from the city. This was evidently where the expert resided.

The ship touched down near a ramshackle house attached to the observatory. The front door swung open, the homeowner anticipating their arrival.

"Hello there, welcome, welcome!" the alien said to the three. Valurians were comparable to bipedal goats, complete with horns, cloven hooves, and rectangular pupils. This one was no different, though he had the distinction of having yellow eyes and being covered in light gray fur.

Emerald approached him. ""Hello, you must be the expert I was told about."

"Yes, that was me!" he said excitedly. "I was contacted by a Peridot about your...condition, and she asked me to take a look, which, given my life's work, I was more than happy to do! Oh, pardon my manners; my name is Grawastenrit M'Makujun, but my friends call me Tenrit. And by that, I mean...well, you can call me Tenrit, anyways."

Emerald was slightly put off by his skittish demeanor. "Um, right." The Valurian welcomed the Gems into his home, which was cluttered with various Gem paraphernalia and the like, as well as some assorted junk that Emerald did not recognize.

Tenrit glanced over at Tanzanite. "Wow, is that-" he shouted, before calming himself. "Are you a Tanzanite? I've never seen one up close before! Actually, I've never seen a lot of Gems up close before, but I've always though Tanzanites were...well, neat. May I?" He gestured to Tanzanite's gem, who held it out for him to examine. "Wow. Beautiful luster. And the cleavage is just incredible!"

Realizing both Pearl and Emerald were giving him odd looks, he broke off. "Can we just get on with this already?" Emerald said. "I have things to take care of." Tenrit led the Gems into an adjacent room, this one only slightly more organized than the last.

"Welcome to my inner sanctum!" he shouted. "This is where all the magic happens! All my research is conducted from in here. Now, let's get a little look-see, shall we?" Emerald reluctantly removed her arm from beneath her cape, presenting her mutation to Tenrit. He faltered at the sight, but nonetheless examined it. He then placed Emerald's other arm underneath a machine, which whirred to life as it began to scan her gemstone.

"If I might ask," he said, gesturing towards the pink Gem, "is she your Pearl?"

"Not officially," Pearl answered.

"Well, that's very nice," he continued. "It must be so nice to have such a loyal companion. If I had to pick one, I'd say Pearls are my favorite kind of Gem." Pearl blushed slightly. "Aside from the Diamonds, of course. Actually, do...do you know them personally? It's just that the Diamonds are the Gems I know the least about, and-"

"Can we focus, please?" Emerald asked.

"Oh, right, of course. I, um, I heard about Pink Diamond. So, I'm sorry for that. I...Did you know her?"

"Tenrit, if you don't mind, I have other things to attend to, so can we _please_ get this over with as soon as possible?" Emerald was becoming quite steamed now.

"Right, of course, my apologies," he said. "I just get a bit excited when Gems are involved." He removed Emerald's gem from under the machine. Walking over to yet another machine, and began typing words into a keyboard. "Give me just a few seconds!" he called.

"Emerald, are you certain we can trust this organic?" asked Tanzanite quietly.

"I don't see why not," Emerald responded. "He's doesn't really seem untrustworthy, just a bit...irritating."

"That is not what I meant," she replied. "Brilliant scientist or not, he gives off an aura of incompetence. He may not be our best option for learning more about your condition."

Before Emerald could ponder this, Tenrit called out "Okay, that should do it! Wow...look at this…" The other three congregated around the computer monitor.

"Now then…" he began. "There are...several anomalies, but I find this to be the most pressing. _This_," he said, pulling up an image, "is what normal, non-anomalous GNA looks like." The image showed a two rods spiraling downwards in a double-helix shape, connected by numerous smaller bars. The two rods were jagged, like a lightning bolt. "And _this_ is the sample of your GNA that Peridot sent me a week or so ago." The second image showed something similar to the above, though the individual segments on the rods were curved now rather than straight. "You can see how it's changed."

"So, what does this mean?" Emerald asked.

"Hold on a sec," Tenrit said. "Here are the scans I just took of you." A third image appeared. "As you can see, it is becoming even more curved. I imagine this is responsible for your recent changes."

"So, what happens when it becomes one long, curved line?"

"This is," he said. One final image appeared, showing just what Emerald had described. "This is DNA. Like your GNA, it is the central defining unit of your life. _Organic_ life."

"So you're saying that…"

"Yes. Whatever is doing this to you, it's slowly turning you into an organic. Well, sort of. Your gem itself is completely normal-sort of-but the programming, or whatever, is altering your projected form in such a way that-"

"Excuse me? Tenrit? What did you mean by 'sort of' normal?" Pearl asked.

Emerald seemed irritated. "Pearl, Tanzanite, could you give us a moment, please?" Tanzanite exited the room. Pearl followed her, but looked back. Emerald gestured for her to leave, which she reluctantly did.

"Continue, please," Emerald said.

"Um...right. I don't exactly know why, but it's as if your own gemstone is doing this to you. Like something from inside it is reprogramming you to be more like an organic."

Emerald looked solemn. "Can you do anything to stop it?"

Tenrit looked around nervously. "I'd never say never, but this goes deeper than I've ever been. Whatever's causing this is beyond anything I've seen in a lifetime of studying. Do you know what an omelette is? Because we may have to break a few eggs to do this."

"I don't care how many omelettes have to be broken," Emerald said. "It's my responsibility to deal with the Interlopers, and I can't have _this_…" Emerald waved her corrupted arm in front of Tenrit, "...interfering with that. So, how long will that take?"

"I'm sorry, Emerald, but I just don't know! To fix this I'd have to fundamentally rewrite your coding, which is _far_ beyond the level of an organic, and I'd imagine most Gems! Not to mention, with your irregular status-"

Emerald stood up. She was quite a bit taller than the Valurian. "What exactly do you mean by 'irregular!?'"

"Look, I'm sorry if you don't like it, but there's no denying how different you are from-"

"Well, fine, how about you just go out and say it, then!?" she yelled. "I'm off-colored! I am an off-color! There, happy now!?"

Neither Tenrit nor Emerald spoke for a while. Emerald was breathing heavily. She then sat back down, putting her head in her hands. Tenrit pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.

"Um...Emerald? If it makes you feel any better, you aren't _that_ off-colored. The only major difference I can see is your gem shape."

Emerald sighed. "That's not all. And it's still enough to matter." She looked down at her gemstone, then back at Tenrit. "When I first emerged, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Some Gems said I was an off-color, some said I wasn't. For all I knew, I was this close to being harvested. In the end, it was decided I was too much of an asset, but...some Gems still seem to remember it."

Emerald stared into the palm of her corrupted hand. "It's times like this I wish I _was_ an organic. As a Gem, you have your purpose, and little else. If you can't fulfil that purpose…" She clenched her fist. "...it's over."

Tenrit nodded. "True. But it must have its perks, right? Being an organic is so chaotic at times. I've always sort of wanted to be a Gem, even when I was a kid. As a Gem, at least you _have_ a purpose. A defined directive you were created to do. You have a destiny." He shook his head. "I can't tell you how often I wish I knew what I was supposed to do…" He placed his hand on Emerald's shoulder. "I'll fix this somehow, I promise."

Suddenly, a loud, booming noise erupted from above them: a sonic boom. "Oh no," Tenrit said. "Not now, not now!" He ran out of the room, Emerald following behind him. Peering out the front window, he then urged the three Gems to hide. "Get into the back room, quick! If they see you here, they'll kill us all!"

Emerald tried to object, but Tenrit seemed so genuinely fearful as he ushered them out of the main room. The trio hid within his laboratory just as the Interloper ship touched down not far from theirs.

The front door opened, and three Interlopers entered. Two were basic Scavengers, but one of their generals stood in the center. The one Peridot had called Pythoriax.

"Quite an impressive collection you've amassed here, Glawastenrit," the Interloper spoke, with clear disdain for both.

"Pythoriax," Tenrit said. "I thought you were going to call ahead next time you needed something."

"Oh, trust me, I was going to," the robot said, "but the boss said this is urgent. We need a bit more than hardware this time…"


	11. Deep Space Showdown

Chapter Eleven: Deep Space Showdown

* * *

"I'm sorry, but you caught me at a bit of a bad time," Tenrit said. "I was just running a few tests. If you could let me get back to it…"

"Not this time," Pythoriax said. "Grab him."

The two Scavengers armed their weapons and began to escort Tenrit out of his dwelling. "What? Hey, what are you doing? This wasn't part of our deal!"

"It is now," said the Interloper. "We have need of your, shall we say, _unique_ expertise. I suggest you cooperate."

Despite his further protests, the machines forced Tenrit into the Interloper ship. It rose slowly into the air, turning towards Emerald's vessel. Red beams of energy shot forth from cannons at its front, tearing through the hull and causing to explode in a gigantic fireball. The ship then ascended past the planet's atmosphere into space.

Emerald and the others ran out of the back room. "What was that!?" shouted Pearl.

"It appears to me that our companion has been abducted," Tanzanite replied. "If I heard correctly, he had previous involvement with the Interlopers."

Outside of the house, Emerald had radioed her flagship. "_Soul Evaporator_, this is Emerald. We have confirmed Interloper activity in this sector, do you copy?"

"My Emerald, this is the _Soul Evaporator_," a voice responded. "We detected the ship as well, but I don't think they know we're here. We're tracking the ship as we speak."

"Understood," replied Emerald. "Send us down another transport, we're down one…"

* * *

_Deep Space._

"I knew we couldn't trust that meatbag!" yelled Onyx.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," said Emerald. "We don't know the entire story yet."

"We know enough!" Onyx replied. "That organic was working with the Interlopers! Providing them with info or whatever!"

"Onyx, don't assume. Besides, Tenrit is my best hope for whatever this is," Emerald said, waving her arm.

The trio of Gems had gotten a ride back to the _Soul Evaporator_, which was now following after the Interloper ship in hyperspace.

"Oh, so you're on a name basis with him, now?" Onyx grumbled.

"My Emerald!" shouted a Peridot. "The ship has stopped at one of our research stations! Locus, to be specific."

"What?" Emerald said. "Another station? Ugh...how long until we arrive?"

"Thirty seconds, My Emerald."

Before long, the _Soul Evaporator_ reached her destination, but her crew were unprepared for what waited for them. The whole of research station Locus was overrun by Interloper ships.

"It's an ambush!" shouted Onyx. "Everyone, to battle stations!"

A pair of Interloper battleships flanked the research station. Thousands of fighters swarmed around the Gem ship. Citrines rushed to the turrets.

"What is the call, My Emerald?" asked Tanzanite.

Emerald crossed her legs, slouching down in her captain's chair. "Engage combat mode!" she shouted.

The _Soul Evaporator_ then split in half. Both sides of the ship shifted towards the front, so the side cannons now faced forwards. All fourteen side cannons and four frontal cannons were now facing towards the enemy.

"Fire!"

All of the cannons began firing. Plasma streaked through the emptiness of space, colliding with the fighter ships. Said ships also opened fire on the _Soul_, though her hull held for now. The crew was more concerned with the two dreadnoughts slowly drifted closer.

"Scramble all fighters!" Emerald shouted. Dozens of Nephrites rushed to their starfighters. The smaller Gem ships deployed en masse and began fighting the Interlopers.

The space near the station was filled with exploding ships. Both Gem and Interloper fighters flew this way and that, firing at the opposition. The _Soul Evaporator_ had to stop firing her cannons, as the space was too saturated with friendly ships.

"There's too many of them, My Emerald!" a Nephrite shouted over the radio. "I don't think I'll be able to-AAARGH!" The feed went silent.

"L4N!" another one screamed. "I'll send you all to the void! You can't stop us!"

"L4O, you're too close to that dreadnought!" said Tanzanite. "Get out of there now!"

"You killed my sister! I'll turn you all into scrap!" Before she could get any further, the battleship's cannons winged her fighter. The damaged ship spiraled out of control before colliding with the research station, exploding on impact.

"We need to take down those dreadnoughts!" said Emerald. "Tanzanite, scan for weak poin-" She was cut off when the entire ship rocked. One of the dreadnoughts had fired a beam at them, cutting through both Gem and Interloper fighters to get there.

"Ugh, enough of this," said Emerald. She input a command on a keypad on the arm of her chair. The floor beneath her opened up as she descended down to a lower level. As she slid down the rail, various bits of metal and plastic were assembled around her chair: her fighter ship was being built around her.

A panel slid open on the underside of the _Soul Evaporator_, and Emerald's fighter emerged, flying into the fray. Expertly dodging lasers and missiles, Emerald dispatched Interloper after Interloper with machine-like precision. However, destroying the fighters would mean nothing if those dreadnoughts were still active. One of which was coming closer to the _Soul_.

"Tanzanite, how are those scans coming?" she asked

"Nearly complete, My Emerald. I advise you to destroy those frontal turrets before they tear through our hull."

Dodging cannon-fire, Emerald flew towards the turrets, which were preparing to fire again, glowing with a crackling blue energy. Mere seconds before they fired, Emerald opened fire herself. The resulting energy discharged caused one of the turrets to explode in a blue fireball, while the other fired. The bolt hit its target, rocking the _Soul Evaporator_ once again.

"Scans complete, My Emerald," Tanzanite said, recovering from the hit. "The fuel storage is located on the ship's underside. A big enough hit should trigger a devastating chain reaction."

"Knowing her blasters couldn't pierce the ship's armor, Emerald tried something else. "Keep the cannons at the ready, I've got an idea." Dodging fire from the turrets, Emerald flew towards the command deck, opening fire. The beams couldn't do any meaningful damage, but it was enough to get their attention. The turrets all aimed at this annoying Gem fighter, desperate to shoot her out of the space. Anticipating this reaction, Emerald few slightly above the dreadnought's aim.

"All fighters, clear the area between the _Soul Evaporator_ and the left dreadnought!" Emerald said over the radio. The ships did just that.

The dreadnought lifted its bow upwards to try and get a good shot at Emerald. Unbenounced to them, this was exposing their weak point.

Once the battleship was tilted high enough, Tanzanite gave the orders. "All turrets, focus fire now." The combined might of eighteen cannons rained down on the dreadnought's fuel tank. As Emerald had predicted, the resulting explosion was instantaneous, taking out nearly a third of the ship. It feebly tried to lower its weak point out of harm's way, but the damage was done, as the chain reaction destroyed the entire ship.

In an effort to get in one final strike, the dreadnought's one remaining cannon charged up, aiming at the _Soul Evaporator_. Before it could shoot, Emerald swooped in from above, destroying it in a barrage of gunfire. Its offenses crippled and its fuel storage destroyed, the ship could do nothing but slowly drift away, too damaged to continue operating.

"Nice work, Mera!" yelled Onyx. "Just one more left!"

"And this one won't fall for the same trick. We'll have to try something else." Emerald thought for a moment. "All fighters, focus fire on the ship's fuel line!"

Every Gem fighter in the area flew towards the battleship's weak spot. Dodging past enemy fighters, they all began to slowly wear away at the metal; a single ship would have no chance, but all of them together had just enough combined power to tear through it. Firing one final missile into the molten metal, Emerald ignited the entire battleship into a smoldering fireball. The reaction this time was much more violent, with the explosion tearing the ship in half.

"Both dreadnoughts are now out of commission, My Emerald," said Tanzanite. Cheers erupted from within the command bridge.

"Good work everyone, I knew we could do it!" said Emerald. "Now, let's mop up the rest of these stragglers!"

All of a sudden, the Gems were greeted with an unwelcome sight: three more dreadnoughts appeared out of hyperspace, looming over them.

Onyx summed up the situation: "Ooh, that doesn't look good!"

More fighters began pouring out from these new arrivals, as well as the research station. Both Emerald and the _Soul Evaporator_ began taking several hits. "Onyx!" she yelled. "Get Pearl to safety!

"Roger that, My Emerald!" she responded. She escorted Pearl to an escape pod, just in case. Chaos erupted all around them as the ship rocked from the impacts. "If anything goes wrong," she explained, "this pod'll take you to the nearest Gem controlled territory. Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does, the emergency beacon will lead rescuers to you. Understand?" Pearl nodded.

"Onyx, I need you to board that station," said Emerald urgently. "Take a team with you, get Tenrit on the _Evaporator_, and then we get out of here!"

"Right away," Onyx responded. "Citrines L9K through Q8I, on me!" Onyx and her platoon rushed to the warp pad, before vanishing from sight.


	12. Rescue Mission

Chapter Twelve: Rescue Mission

* * *

_Research Station Locus._

Despite their similarity in appearance, differing only noticeably in color and slightly in voice, the different types of Quartz soldiers were each created to serve a different purpose on the battlefield. Jaspers were the frontline, first on the field, and the last to leave. Amethysts played a more defensive role, keeping hardpoints on lockdown. Carnelians were designed for hit-and-run tactics. And Citrines formed the backbone, standing steadfast in the center of an advance.

Onyxes, like our Onyx, were the heavy hitters. Easily twice the size of most other Quartz soldiers, an Onyx sacrificed mobility for devastating destructive power. Nowhere else was this better illustrated than when Onyx warped onto the station.

Flanked by several Citrines, the giant Gem appeared in front of a veritable army of Scavengers and Predators. Quickly drawing her hammer, Onyx absorbed most of the enemies' shots to protect her team. She threw the weapon lengthways, and it carved through the Interlopers' numbers like a razor blade. She and the Citrines were easily able to clear out those left over.

"Alright, let's just find this meatbag quickly so we can get out of here," she said. The group set off down the halls of the station. It was overrun with the machines, who seemed to have taken over the entire place. Gem shards littered the hallways.

"Does anyone else hear that?" a Citrine asked. She was referring to a soft whining hum, which was getting closer to the group, approaching from behind. Onyx turned around in time to see a pair of airborne Interlopers catch up to them. The jetpacked pair unloaded with a flurry of rapid-fire lasers from both arms.

Onyx tanked most of the beams, swinging her hammer at the flying foes. Unfortunately for her, they were too nimble to be hit, dodging this way and that past her swings. "Hurgh! I can't-Ragh!-hit these little-Grah!-pests! Somebody do something!"

One of the Citrines, whose weapon was shuriken, threw a barrage of the stars at the Raptors. Several hit their target, with one of the machines losing control of its flight. Onyx smashed the disoriented Interloper to pieces against the wall. The other, however, was smart enough to keep its distance.

Not one to be taunted, Onyx gave chase. "You get back here, fracture!" she yelled after it. The chase led Onyx through several more hallways, smashing many more Interlopers on the way. Soon enough, the Raptor hit a dead end. Onyx swung with her hammer, but it only winged the machine, who fell to the ground. Rather than crush it, she held her hammer just above it, burning it with the afterburner. Circuitry fried and metal melted, ending with a satisfying explosion as Onyx grinned. She looked around her. "Right, now...where exactly am I?"

After some searching, Onyx came to a room inhabited by two Predators and an organic suspended in a cylindrical tank. As stealthy as ever, Onyx burst through the door with a shoulder charge. She dispatched one of the Interlopers by throwing her hammer, and knocked the other's head clean off with a single punch.

"Oh! Am I safe in assuming Emerald sent you?" the organic said. After finishing off her prey, Onyx readied herself, winding up with her hammer over her shoulder.

"I'm gonna hit that tank now," she said. "Your answer will tell me how hard I'll do it: why were you working with the Interlopers?"

"They forced me to, I swear!" said Tenrit. "They approached me a few months ago, asking for information about Gems. They said they'd kill me if I refused, so I had to! Please, it was only self-preservation! Besides, they kidnapped me! I never agreed to this!" Onyx's eyes narrowed as she prepared to swing. "Please! I love Gems, I'd never willingly let them be destroyed!"

Onyx wound up for a swing. "I could just tell her they killed you," she said. "Mera'd be none the wiser."

"No, wait, I'm not helping them! Honestly!" he said. As Onyx swung the hammer, he shouted out a panicked "_Adamantem In Eternum_!"

Onyx stopped just short. The glass of the tank shattered to pieces, and Tenrit fell to the ground. He stood up, shaking off whatever liquid was in the tank. "Only a real Gem fanatic would wish glory for the Diamonds," Onyx said. "Either that, or a nut."

"I don't know if I should be grateful you saved me...or upset that you were about to kill me!" he said once he recovered.

"Oh, relax. I was just testing you," Onyx said. "As far as you know…" she added under her breath.

"Well, as you Gems would say: let us get the void out of here!"

Onyx sighed. "Frackin' organics," she muttered. "Let's get you home so that we never have to see each other again."

"I can live with that," said Tenrit. The two left the room out into the hallways. Sounds of combat could be heard in the distance, but no Interlopers were nearby. The pair slowly crept through the halls towards the warp pad.

"I swear, this place is like a maze," Onyx grumbled. "You shouldn't have to be a fracking Sapphire to find your anything in here!"

After a while of walking, the duo came to a room full of destroyed Interlopers. "I guess you've been here," said Tenrit.

"Naw, this wasn't me," Onyx said. "These 'bots were sliced, not smashed. Probably one of the Citrines came through here, or-"

A hail of small spikes flew towards them. Onyx stepped in front of Tenrit, becoming riddled with spines in the process.

"Onyx?" said Emerald, stepping forward. "I'm so sorry, I was in the zone, I thought you were an Interloper."

"No biggie," said Onyx, prying the spines from her face and chest.

"Did you find Tenrit?" Emerald asked. Said Valurian peered out from behind Onyx, waving.

"Present!" he said cheerfully.

"Good, now let's get out of here. Hopefully we don't run into any more-"

Sinister laughter echoed all around the room. "I see you've rescued your pet!" came the voice of Pythoriax. "Now, this is quite the heartwarming scene-a Gem and her Valurian-but I'm afraid I'll need him back now."

"Get off the intercom and take him yourself, then!" yelled Onyx.

"I could," admitted Pythoriax, "but wouldn't it be much more satisfying if _you_ brought him to _me_? I mean, I doubt your ship could take much more punishment…"

Hearing this, Emerald contacted Tanzanite. "Tanzanite, status report!" she said.

"My Emerald, fighters are wearing thin, and our shields are low. I estimate mere minutes before the _Soul Evaporator_ is destroyed."

"All right, let's make this quick," said Emerald. She opened a door, but before she could step through, she was greeted by the sight of dozens, if not hundreds, of Interlopers, all of which turned towards them.

"Oh dear," said Emerald.

"Oh, shard," said Onyx.

"Oh, zorg," said Tenrit.

Lasers numbering in the hundreds streamed through the door, as the three dove for cover. Emerald tried to get back to the panel to close the door, but the firepower was too overwhelming. Even Onyx was being pushed back. Some of the machines were coming into the room, being speared and shocked by Emerald.

"How do we get to the warp pad?" Onyx shouted.

"It's past them," Emerald said. "All of the Citrines are back on the ship, so it's just us. The only way out is through those machines."

Tenrit walked to the side wall, looking for something. When he returned, he was holding a yellow tube of metal with glowing green lights. A laser gun of Gem creation.

"You sure you know how to use that thing?" said Onyx.

"I've been studying Gems since I was a kid," Tenrit responded. He energized the weapon, and fired several shots into the mass, taking down two or three of the robots. "I think I'll figure it out."

The trio held out for a while, barely able to make a dent in the mass of machines. Eventually, Tanzanite radioed back from the ship.

"My Emerald, I am not sure how much longer we can hold out," she said. "There are too many ships."

"We're pinned down in here, Tanzanite!" responded Emerald. "We'll try to get to you, but you might have to leave without us. Warm up the warp drive, I'll radio you again if we can't make it."

"We can make it, right?" said Onyx. "These guys are nothin'. We can get past 'em, right?"

Tenrit had stopped shooting, and was instead looking down one of the corridors. "Emerald...this is research station Locus, right?"

"Yes," said Emerald. "Why, what's your point?"

"I know this place," Tenrit said. "I've memorized the layout of all these research stations. I know where they keep the samples, the hangar...the core."

Emerald seemed to realize what he was suggesting. "What? Tenrit, you can't be serious! You'll get yourself killed!"

"These things want me alive," he explained. "If they get a hold of me, they'll use what I know against Homeworld. If I do this, you can get back to your Gems, and they won't get that information." He stood there for a few seconds, not looking at her. "Well...it's been a ride." He turned to go.

"Tenrit, wait!" cried Emerald, catching him by the arm. "If you do this, you'll die! I can't let you just give up your life like that!"

Tenrit just chuckled. "I'm flattered you feel that way about me," he said, "but something tells me you're after something else. Right?"

Emerald held her left arm. "Okay...if you really want to sacrifice yourself for us, I can't stop you for that. But if you die, I'll never get this fixed!"

"I may know a lot about Gem stuff, but I'm not even a Gem myself!" he said. "You'll find someone to help you, I'm sure of it. Just you wait."

He began to walk away again, but he paused, turning back. "Emerald…" he said, "Before I go, I need to know one thing: are the rumors true?"

Emerald paused. "The...the rumors?"

Tenrit looked down. "There's been talk among some people back on Valuris," he said. "Apparently, more Gem ships have been sighted in the area than is normal, and they're not the kind that usually show up. It's more of a conspiracy theory than anything, but some people are saying that Valuris is being targeted for colonization. Do you know anything about that?"

"Well, I haven't seen any plans for it," said Emerald. "Usually, Homeworld doesn't target any planets that have advanced above the stone age."

Tenrit grinned. "See? I kept telling people you guys can be good."

"Actually, it's more pragmatic than that," Emerald admitted. "More advanced species can fight back against our efforts, after all."  
"I see. Still…"

Emerald continued. "However, we've been pushing those guidelines more and more lately. The Humans had even learned to make tools and clothing. Resources have become harder and harder to find as of late. Homeworld is getting desperate. I doubt Homeworld would colonize your planet, but if this resource crisis gets any worse...I can't make any guarantees."

Tenrit looked solemn. "Well, I guess you can't hate the xalgrax because it eats the vartag, right?"

"Exactly!" Onyx said. She had no idea what he had said.

"Tenrit, if it's any consolation, I'll do what I can to prevent it from happening if Homeworld decides to go through with it," Emerald promised.

"Thanks, it means a lot," Tenrit said. "If anything, I'm glad I got to meet a real-life Emerald!" Said Emerald grinned slightly. "Peace."

The Valurian walked out of the room. After a few more minutes, warning sirens began to blare throughout the station.

"_Warning. Warning. Core meltdown in progress. T-minus thirty seconds until detonation._" a computerized voice said.

"What!?" Pythoriax stammered. "I know what you're doing, you filthy organic! Get in there and stop him, now!"

The Interlopers blocking their path rushed towards the core chamber. Emerald and Onyx ran to the warp pad as quickly as they could, slicing and smashing any Interlopers that got in their way. They got to the warp pad, disappearing to the _Soul Evaporator_ just as a column of fire erupted past it.

Back on the ship, Emerald sprinted to the command deck. Cracks had appeared in the walls, sparks jumping from torn circuitry. Onyx looked out the window. Outside she saw hundreds of Interloper ships, as well as the research station going up in flames.

"Tanzanite, get us out of here, _now_!" Emerald yelled.

"Yes, My Emerald," she said. "The warp drive is damaged and is taking longer than normal to warm up. We are almost ready to launch."

Emerald took a seat in her chair. "Onyx, go to Pearl. I want you to eject with her if the ship goes down." Onyx complied.

Emerald ant the other Gems were startled by a loud thud as an object collided with the glass. It was Pythoriax. The Interloper banged on the window, apparently fuming, before he climbed to the top of the ship.

"Quick, deploy photon membrane!" shouted Emerald. The shield of energy wrapped around the _Soul Evaporator_, catching Pythoriax off-guard.

"Jump, now!" Emerald practically screamed. The ship rumbled and groaned, before lurching forwards and vanishing. Just above where it had been, the upper body of Pythoriax, sans half of each of his forearms, floated aimlessly. His glowing eyes slowly faded to a dull red, as he drifted into the nothingness.


	13. Hopeless

Chapter Thirteen: Hopeless

* * *

_Homeworld, Capital Sector, Medical District._

Heliodor looked over the data once more. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Looking at the diagrams Emerald had provided, it was clear that she was indeed becoming more like an organic. But how or why, neither of them knew. "I'm sorry Emerald," she said, "but this is above me."

Emerald was sitting nearby. "You're telling me," she said, "that some organic could figure out exactly what was happening to me, but Homeworld's Science Minister can't do anything about it?" She didn't even look up.

"It's not that simple," said Heliodor. "I may not know how to fix it, but I know what's happening. This change, this...this corruption is changing the very essence of your being from the inside out."

"That's wonderful," Emerald grumbled. "Do you have anything else? Maybe something useful?"

"Well, based on the data, I've broken the change into three stages: physical, emotional, and mental, in that order. The physical mutations have been limited to your arm so far, but I don't know for how long. After that, you'll start experiencing mood swings and inflamed emotions. Finally, you will experience near-total memory loss. Once that happens..." She didn't need to finish.

"So I'll turn into some sort of monster with anger issues and no memories," Emerald said. "Brilliant. Can you stop it?"

"Yes and no. There's only one solution, but…"

"But what?" said Emerald irritably.

"..._but_, the solution requires a complete upheaval of everything that makes you,

you. If the process is successful, you will lose every single one of your memories, be unable to experience _any_ emotion, and might even lose your powers. If it's unsuccessful, it could leave you completely inert, no more alive than a regular stone."

Emerald put her head in her hand. "That's it. I give up," she sighed. She stood up. "The one person who could've helped me is dead, _you_ can't do anything, and now I've got a time limit before I go completely feral!"

"I wouldn't say I can't do _any_thing," said Heliodor. "I need you to think: when exactly did this happen?"

"On the way back from Earth," Emerald said. "Whatever the Diamonds used to destroy the Crystal Gems hit me in the arm, and a few hours later, it looked like this." She held up her arm, which was just as monstrous as ever.

"Okay, that's a start," Heliodor said. "The Diamonds combined their power to destroy them, so your condition is due to their combined power. It only hit your arm, so that explains why it only affected you a small bit."

"You call this 'small?'" Emerald groaned.

"Wait a minute...physical, emotional, mental, it all makes sense!" said Heliodor. "If the Diamonds caused this, then they must be able to reverse it!"

"I'm sure they are," Emerald said. "What makes you think that they will?"

"Emerald, you're the Supreme Admiral of Homeworld!" said Heliodor. "I'm sure they'd be willing to help you…"

"No, what they'd do is have me experimented on, and get a new Emerald to replace me!" She walked angrily to a window overlooking Homeworld. "If I thought the Diamonds could help me, I would have told them about this as soon as I got back from Earth. I didn't want to put any of my team in danger." She sighed. "When the war ended, I thought everything would go back to being business as usual. We could recover from Pink Diamond's shattering, and make our empire bigger than ever. Instead, the Interlopers show up and start ripping us to shreds, and I've contracted some sort of disease!"

"Emerald, I know it looks bleak, but we do have a lead," said Heliodor. "Please, if you just ask the Diamonds…"

"I've made up my mind," Emerald said. "I'll find some other way."

"Emerald, please. You're Homeworld's best shot at defeating the Interlopers! You already killed two of their generals!"

"I didn't do anything," Emerald said. "That Peridot blew up Omnulus, and Pythoriax jumped in front of our photon membrane. None of that was because of me."

"You can't just give up! Please, at least talk to Yellow Diamond! Think: if you get corrupted, what's going to happen to all your friends? What about Onyx, or Tanzanite? What about Pearl? Surely you-"

"I SAID NO!" screamed Emerald. As she whipped around, Heliodor saw that her pupils had become slits, and her teeth were sharp as knives. She started, but did not scream or run.

Emerald realized her outburst. She calmed down, her pupils filling and her fangs retracting. "I...I'm sorry," she said softly. "It's just that...with everything that's been happening lately, I-nevermind. I really appreciate your help, Heliodor."

The yellow Beryl approached her friend. "It's okay. I know you've been through a lot." She placed her arm around Emerald. "But I think there's something else going on here."

"What's that?" asked Emerald.

"I think you've just started stage two."

* * *

Emerald had seemed somewhat distant after the events at research station Locus. Even though she had not known him very well, Tenrit was a kind and helpful man, and she was saddened by his death. She barely talked with Tanzanite, and didn't laugh at any of Onyx's quips (not that she did that much anyways, but she usually reacted somewhat). Of all her friends, Pearl was the one who was most affected.

"My Emerald, may I come in?" she asked, peeking through the door frame.

"Of course, Pearl," Emerald said. She had just finished a call to Yellow Diamond. She was originally going to take Heliodor's advice and tell her about the corruption, decided against it at the last minute. Instead, she gave her a generic status report on the Interlopers.

"My Diamond, I'm glad to report that two of the four Interloper generals have been eliminated," she had said.

"A commendable feat," responded Yellow, "but their efforts have not slowed. The Interlopers fight as strongly as ever, and the Oculus grows ever closer. Destroying their generals has not helped."

"I understand, My Diamond," said Emerald. "If my intel is to be believed, their armadas should have diminished in tactical prowess. If-"

"Their armadas no longer rely on tactics, but sheer numbers," explained Yellow. "One problem has been traded for another."

"My Diamond," Emerald said, "if I were to destroy the lead general, do you think it would cripple their war efforts significantly?"

"There's no way to be sure, but it is worth a try," Yellow said. "Is there anything else you have to report?"

"No, that's everything, My Diamond," said Emerald. "Emerald out." She closed the message, which was when Pearl had walked in.

"My Emerald," she said, "I was wondering how your meeting with Science Minister Heliodor went. Does she have any way to fix your condition?"

"No," Emerald lied. "We'll find a way, but we have to keep looking."

"Oh," said Pearl, disappointed. She walked over to Emerald. "My Emerald...are you sure you'll find something?"

"Why?" asked Emerald. "Do you not have faith in me?"

"I don't want this to happen to you, My Emerald," she said. "If you die, or turn into a monster...what's going to happen to me?"

"Emerald sighed. "Pearl, stop worrying. If anything happens to me, Onyx and Tanzanite will take care of you."

"That's not what I meant," Pearl said. "You are the first Gem who ever showed me kindness. You rescued me, and showed me unconditional love. It isn't where I'll go if anything happens to you that worries me. It's how I'll go on."

Emerald stood up. "Pearl, that's enough. I've got too much to take care of now, I don't need you adding to that!"

Pearl took a step back, hurt by this comment. "I...I understand, My Emerald. I'll go now."

"Pearl, wait," Emerald said. Something was wrong. Her entire body was shaking. "I didn't mean it," she said, stilted, steadying herself against the wall. "Pearl. Come back."

"I'm right here, My Emerald," said Pearl. "What's wrong?"

Emerald's head was pounding. "What's happening to me?" she whispered. She fell to her knees, scratching deep into the wall as she fell, and Pearl rushed over to help her.

"Pearl…" she said quietly. "Pearl...can you...can you please...stop _screaming at me_!?"

Pearl took a step back. "I d-didn't say anything, m-my Emerald," she stammered.

Emerald lurched forward, groaning in pain. Pearl walked closer, when Emerald suddenly whipped flung head towards the ceiling. She emitted a loud roar; not in the voice of a Gem, but in the voice of an animal, some sort of wild beast. Her teeth had grown into fangs, and her eyes were entirely yellow. Pearl yelped, stumbling backwards.

The sound of Pearl's fear snapped Emerald out of her trance. "P-Pearl…" she said softly, still shaking a small bit. She looked around for the Gem in question, and hurried towards her when she saw her.

Pearl reacted fearfully at first, shielding herself from this potential attacker. Emerald stopped, mortified that Pearl was now afraid of her. After some time, Pearl allowed Emerald to embrace her. "I'm sorry," Emerald said tearfully. "I'm so, so sorry."

"I know, My Emerald," Pearl said.

When Emerald broke away, Pearl saw that she had changed more. "M-my Emerald...your eye…" Emerald looked at her reflection in a window, and saw that her left pupil had retained its slit-like appearance. Her teeth had somewhat returned to normal, but her canines were noticeably sharper than usual. "Heliodor was right," she said morosely. "It's getting worse…"

Behind the two, the door opened, and a Citrine entered. Emerald hid her arm underneath her cape. "My Emerald," the Citrine said, "an Interloper fleet has been sighted near Tacitus-4!"

"Tacitus-4?" Emerald said. "Why there? It hasn't even been colonized yet."

"I'm not sure, My Emerald, but Yellow Diamond wants us to move now!"

"Is the _Soul Evaporator_ space-worthy?" asked Emerald.

"Yes, repairs are complete," the Citrine said.

"No rest for the weary," said Emerald, massaging her arm. "Alright, get ready for takeoff."


	14. Falling Skies

Chapter Fourteen: Falling Skies

* * *

_Hyperspace, en route to Tacitus-4_.

"Alright, everyone, you know the drill," Emerald announced. "Once we arrive, those Interlopers will be all over us. It'll be like research station Locus, but this time, we'll be ready for them. I have also been informed that several other ships will be joining us this time around as well, so we have the advantage. We go in, we take their fleet down, and we go back home. Everyone ready?" Her crew responded in the affirmative.

"Thirty seconds until arrival, My Emerald," said Tanzanite. Gems took their place at their battle stations. Before long, the _Soul Evaporator_ arrived at Tacitus-4, where a battle was already in progress. Numerous Gem warships were engaging with the Interloper fleet, the space around them saturated with fighters from both sides.

"Engage combat mode!" shouted Emerald. She _Soul Evaporator_ shifted its side cannons to the front. "Open fire!"

Plasma exploded from the cannons, impacting the enemy ships. Gem fighters swarmed out of the _Soul_'s dock.

"Are you going out there, too?" asked Onyx.

"Not yet, I need to stay and give orders," Emerald replied. She contacted another dreadnought to the left of them. "Emerald XG7, what did we miss?"

Another Emerald responded to her call. "Welcome to the party, Supreme Admiral. We caught 'em by surprise, but they're tougher than we thought!"

"Anything we can do to help?" Emerald said.

"Nothing that you aren't already doing! We just have to clear out these last few battleships, and that should be that!"

Another Gem ship fired an enormous bolt of energy from its frontal cannon, tearing a large chunk out of an Interloper ship. "Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem," said Emerald.

Several Interloper fighters flew past the window, firing futilely at the Gems inside. As they passed, Emerald noticed a smaller ship among them, armed only with a small red light. Thinking of it as insignificant, Emerald quickly shifted her focus elsewhere, towards the larger ships.

With more battleships, the Gems seemed to be winning this battle. Despite their superior numbers, the Interlopers were being overwhelmed by the Gems' superior firepower. Before long, only a few of their battleships remained.

"My Emerald, I am detecting a massive energy signature from the planet's surface," Tanzanite said suddenly.

Emerald turned towards her. "Is it from a spire or something?" she said.

"There are no Gem structures on the planet's surface," Tanzanite said. "But whatever it is, it's growing."

Emerald stood up, walking over to her. "Let me see. What kind of energy is it?"

"I cannot be sure from this distance," she said. "This is its location." Tanzanite indicated an area down on the planet. The signature was indeed growing in strength.

Suddenly, something caught Emerald's eye. There, in the distance, was the small ship from before. It hovered just beside a Gem battleship, its red light pointing directly at it. Almost as if…

Almost as if it was painting a target.

"No!" Emerald shouted. She rushed back to her captain's chair to send a message, but it was too late. A gigantic beam of red light shot forth from the surface of Tacitus-4, slicing through the ship like a hot knife through butter. The ship's hull tore apart as it glowed with heat, explosions rocking from within.

Emerald's eyes darted, trying to find that small ship that guided the blast. "What the void was that!?" yelled Onyx.

Emerald quickly contacted the other ships. "All units, we need to evacuate the area now! The Interlopers have deployed some kind of surface-to-space weapon-" She was cut off as another ship exploded. Shrapnel bombarded the _Soul Evaporator_, sending it careening to the side. Emerald was almost thrown from her chair. "All fighters, be on the lookout for some sort of targeting vessel, it seems to be guiding where they fire the weapon. We have to destroy it before any more ships are lost."

"My Emerald, I have visual on the targeting ship," Tanzanite said. Emerald looked where she was pointing, only to see that it was directly in front of the window, staring directly in at them. Its red beam was fixed directly at Emerald herself.

"Forward! Full speed ahead!" cried Emerald. The_ Soul Evaporator_ slowly lurched forwards, as the small ship retreated. The red beam narrowly avoided hitting it.

"We've gotta get out of here!" said Onyx. "Get us ready for warp jump or something!"

"Negative," said Tanzanite. "It will be another five minutes until the warp drive has recharged."

Onyx was incensed. "You gotta be kiddin' me! Who designed that thing, anyways!?"

"My Emerald, we're in pursuit of the targeting ship," a Nephrite reported.

"Understood. Take it down," said Emerald. "All hands! Engage travel mode!" The _Soul Evaporator_ shifted back to its normal configuration. "Get us pointed back towards Homeworld for when warp jump is ready!"

Dodging and weaving through debris, a squadron of Nephrite fighters chased after the targeting ship. "We've almost got it, girls!" their captain said. One of them broke away from the formation, circling around the debris field. Just as she suspected, the enemy ship exited the field and came right into targeting range. She let loose with her ship's guns, blowing the Interloper to smithereens. "Great work! My Emerald, the targeting ship has been destroyed."

But they weren't out of the woods yet. Another beam of light shot up towards them, this one cleaving through the center of an Interloper warship.

"What the? Are they firing on their own troops now?" asked Onyx.

"No," responded Emerald. "I think now that we took out their means of targeting, they're just firing blindly." Emerald was proven right, as another beam shot through the darkness of space. "Tanzanite! Get us out of here!"

"Affirmative," said Tanzanite. "Thirty seconds until warp jump." The ship was enveloped by a plasma membrane as the warp drive whirred to life. Their escape was cut short when a beam grazed the edge of the _Soul Evaporator_, disabling the jump.

Emerald's first instinct was to grab ahold of Pearl. "Tanzanite, are we going or what!?"

"The warp drive had been disabled, My Emerald. Subsystems are shutting down...hull integrity compromised...it doesn't look good, My Emerald."

"Can you at least get us away from the laser!?" asked Onyx.

"My Diamond, do something!" Pearl yelled, clinging to Emerald.

"Primary thrusters are offline," Tanzanite said. "We're being pulled in by the planet's gravity!"

Emerald placed her right hand on Pearl's head, as her left one was enveloped with a frightful burning. She stood up, placing Pearl on the chair behind her. "Peridots, control our descent as much as you can. I want us coming in slow, as far away from whatever that is firing at us as possible."

"Understood, My Emerald." The _Soul Evaporator_ made contact with the planet's atmosphere, bursting into flames. Fortunately, the shields were able to take the brunt of the impact.

The ship was diving directly towards the ground. "We're coming in too fast!" cried Emerald.

"My Emerald, if we come in at an angle, the shielding won't be able to withstand the heat!" reported Tanzanite. "I recommend pulling up once we are one mile from the ground.

"You heard her!" yelled Emerald. The entire ship was rocking like it was about to fall apart. Emerald tried to keep her composure. The more stressed she became, the worse her arm burned.

"Ten more seconds…" said Tanzanite. Emerald placed Pearl on her lap, prepared to shield her if the crash-landing went south. Her left arm gripped the armrest of her chair, leaving deep scratch-marks.

"Eight…" Pieces of the ship flew off and into the distance.

"Six…" The shield was giving out.

"Four…" Emerald could make out trees and other landmarks on the ground now.

"Two…" Everyone prepared themselves for the worst.

"Now!" shouted Tanzanite.

"Now!" Emerald repeated.

With a terrible lurch and the screeching of metal, the _Soul Evaporator_ turned parallel to the ground. Afterburners gave everything they had just to keep the behemoth from crashing to the ground. Before long, it was just too much to handle: the ship's engines gave out entirely, and the core was silent. The only thing keeping the ship in the air now was its momentum.

"All hands, brace for impact!" yelled Emerald. She threw both her arms around Pearl, holding the tiny Gem as tightly as she could without crushing her. Onyx braced herself against an instrument table. Tanzanite and many of the others sat in the nearest chair, holding on to the seat with a death grip.

Before long, the _Soul Evaporator_ made contact with the planet's surface. Tons of earth and grass were displaced as the titanic ship carved a gigantic chasm in the ground. Trees were blown out of the way like toothpicks under the ship's mass. After what seemed to be an eternity, the _Soul Evaporator_ was still. The metal groaned and the smoke rose, but after a while all was silent.

On the bridge, everyone still sat in their crash positions, unsure if it was safe to move. A few Gems got up from the floor, having been thrown from their seats by the impact, but none of them seemed to be badly injured, at least.

Slowly but surely, Emerald surveyed her surroundings. She could not see the extent of the damage to her beloved flagship, but she was certain it was catastrophic. Pearl was still shaking in her embrace. "Tanzanite, status report," she groaned.

"We have successfully made landfall on Tacitus-4," came the reply. "All instruments have been damaged or are otherwise offline."

As Pearl got her bearings, Emerald stood up and dusted the two of them off. Onyx stood up, massaging her head. "Argh...what happened last night?" she said groggily.

Emerald walked to the door after making sure all her subordinates were relatively unharmed. The burning in her arm was now replaced with a light tingling. She sighed. "No rest for the weary."


	15. Shipwrecked

Chapter Fifteen: Shipwrecked

* * *

_Tacitus-4._

"Tanzanite...how bad is the damage?" Emerald asked. She could see the crashed ship herself, but she could not accept it.

"My Emerald, hull integrity is between four and seven percent," the blue Gem responded. "The warp core has been destroyed. Energy systems are inoperable. The _Soul Evaporator_ has been completely destroyed."

Emerald stared at her beloved starship. She stared solemnly at its wrecked form, as if it was a fallen friend. "Stars damn it, I loved that ship," she said. The _Soul Evaporator_ was the first ship she received as Supreme Admiral of Homeworld; a gift from Yellow Diamond herself. Underneath her cloak, Emerald clenched her fist until her claws dug into her palm.

The Gems overlooked their wrecked vessel from atop a hill a half-mile or so away. Emerald had lead the others away from the ship, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the Interlopers arrived to eliminate any survivors. And she was right: a number of scouting ships flew in from the east to investigate the wreckage.

"Hey, Mera, we should probably get going," Onyx said, snapping her commander out of her delirium. "I don't think they see us yet, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Yes…" Emerald replied. "Yes, we should. We'll keep moving, and find a secure location to set up an outpost. From there, we'll plan our next move."

The trio of Gems set off, with the battalion trailing behind them. "Uh, Emerald?" said Onyx. "What exactly would our 'next move' be? In case you haven't noticed, we're stranded on a planet that the Interlopers control with no way to contact Homeworld, and we only have one ship's worth of troops! Unless you plan on hiding until somebody comes across us in a few centuries, I don't really see any options."

"That orbital cannon is still active," said Emerald. "If another Gem fleet does arrive, they'll be blown apart before they even know what's happening, like we were. If we want any chance at being rescued, we need to take it out."

"I guess that makes sense," Onyx said. "Tanz, anything to add?"

"I agree," said Tanzanite. "Disabling the Interlopers' surface-to-space laser weapon seems to be the best option for our continued survival."

"Tanz, you always know just what to say to make sense and no sense at the same time," said Onyx.

All this time, Pearl had been walking beside them, still shaken up by the crash. "Pearl, you haven't said anything since we made landfall," Emerald said. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Emerald," she explained. "Although, I have been thinking about the last few days… Are _you_ alright?"

"Pearl, I told you, I'm fine. It's just...I've been going through some stress lately. I can assure you, once we get off this rock, everything is going to get better."

"But Science Minister Heliodor said-"

"You weren't even there, how do you know what she said?" Emerald snapped. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Pearl, I know I've been grouchy lately. I don't mean it, it's just...just…"

"Stage two," said Pearl. "I know."

Emerald smiled. "I've seen a lot of Pearls in my time, but you might be the sweetest. Are you sure you really want to stay with me?"

"Of course!" Pearl chirped. "Like I said, you're the nicest Gem I know! It's not your fault you're grumpy."

"Back in my earliest days, I never would have thought I'd have a Pearl," Emerald said. "Not because I didn't want a companion, I just figured no Pearl would want to stay with me, because of how much I yell."

"Are you kidding?" said Onyx in disbelief. "You hardly ever yell!"

"You mean, I wasn't too hard on you and the other Quartzes?" Emerald asked.

"Naw, you treated us like we were Pearls!" Seeing the weird look on Emerald's face, Onyx added "In the sense that you were gentle, that is. But firm, too. Gentle, but firm."

"Huh. I could have sworn I yelled at you all a lot," she said.

"Eh, you did. But only when we deserved it. Which in my case, was most of the time," Onyx said with a chuckle.

The convoy stopped moving when Emerald held out her hand. "What is it, My Emerald?" whispered Tanzanite.

"I'm not sure," Emerald said. "I heard something in the bushes." She scanned the trees in front of them, searching for any sign of movement. Then, she heard it again: a rustling in the leaves.

"I heard it too," Onyx said. "It sounded too small to be an Interloper. Then again, you think it's a new type?"

In a rustle of leaves, the source of the noise scampered out of the underbrush: a small, furry organic, not unlike a rodent of Earth.

"Oh," laughed Onyx, "it's just a living hairball. That's a relief, eh, Mera? Mera?" But Emerald continued to stare at the critter. Onyx looked at her face, and saw that her eyes had gone slit-like. Not only that, but her fangs had begun to emerge.

Crouching down, Emerald lunged towards the animal on all fours. Growling like a wild animal, she gnashed her teeth at where it had just been a second ago. The animal scurried up a tree, with Emerald hot in its tail. She clawed at the bark, slavering and snarling. The Gems under her command were shocked, having never seen a Gem act like this before.

"Uh, Emerald?" said Onyx, slowly approaching the frenzied Gem. "Emerald!" Her shout was enough to snap Emerald out of her trance.

She looked around, confused. "Huh? What happened?" She rubbed her head. "Why are you all staring at me? And why is my arm burni-Oh." Emerald walked back over to her legion. "I lost it again, didn't I?" They all nodded.

"My Emerald, while I do not know the cause of your transformation, it appears to be exacerbated in the presence of organics," Tanzanite said. "Perhaps we should set up camp in a more remote location."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I could use some space. Why don't you lead the way?"

Tanzanite took charge of the hike, leading the Gems to what she deemed the best spot for an outpost, while Emerald lagged behind. She was afraid of her mutations, not only in what it meant for her, but what it meant for the Gems around her. Pearl was right: who would take care of her if this corruption took hold? Who would lead her troops? What if the transformation was permanent? What if she attacked someone?

While she worried, Tanzanite lead the group to the base of a nearby mountain. The area was in the shade, and thus fairly hidden, but open enough not to be cramped. There weren't many trees, and thus no organics aside from the grass. The group of Gems hunkered down here as the sun set, planning their assault for when dawn came.

An hour or so passed. "My Emerald, our scouts have returned," said Tanzanite. "The laser weapon is less than a mile from our location. We have decided to attack it in the morning, as our naturally-glowing bodies will be easily spotted in the dark."

Emerald was sitting down on a grassy hill. "Understood. Are you sure you don't need me?"

"We should be able to manage until the morning. You just stay here and relax. I will alert you if any new developments come up." With that, Tanzanite walked away, leaving Emerald alone. Not that she minded at this time. The night air was cold, but it was a good cold. It felt especially nice against her left arm. She also noticed that the stars were especially visible on this planet. She was trying to see if she could recognize any, when Pearl walked over.

"Emerald?" she said. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

Emerald looked up. "Of course not. Here, lie down." She set her cape down on the ground for Pearl to lay on, which she did.

The two of them looked towards the night sky. "It's so beautiful," mused Pearl. "What's that star right there called?" she said, pointing to a bright blue one.

Emerald squinted. "I don't think that's a star. Actually, I'm not sure, but I think that's Tacitus-6."

"Either way, it's really pretty," said Pearl. After a few moments, she said, "Hey Emerald?"

"Yes?"

"I've always wondered, how come we say so many things about the stars?"

"How do you mean?"

"Things like 'Oh my stars,' 'Thank the stars,' things like that. Aren't the stars just big fireballs?"

Emerald smiled. "It's a bit more complex than that, but there is a reason behind it. See, back in the early days of Gemkind, it was believed that there were thousands of Diamonds, not just four. There were as many of them as there are other Gems now. But one day, a cataclysm befell the Diamond Kingdom: a terrible darkness, known only as the Mother, was envious of the Diamonds and all their beauty, and she sought to extinguish them once and for all. She would have succeeded, were it not for the brave sacrifice of the Diamond race. For the sake of all of Gemkind, almost all of the Diamonds used their powers to transform into beacons of light, spreading their beauty throughout the whole universe, and destroying the Mother once and for all. And that's where the stars come from. Four Diamonds were chosen to watch over our empire, and they became the Great Diamond Authority! And ever since then, we thank the stars for guiding us on the path towards greatness."

Pearl was amazed. "Wow," she whispered. "Is that true?"

Emerald giggled. "No, Pearl, it's just a story. Still, it's nice to imagine that there's so many Diamonds keeping us safe. We need all the help we can get against the Interlopers. Right, Pearl?"

But Pearl wasn't listening. She was looking off into the distance, into the tall grass at the base of the hill. "My Emerald, I think something's down there."

"Don't worry, Pearl," said Emerald, placing her hand on the Gem's shoulder. "It's probably just another organic." But she knew it wasn't. When the brown organic from earlier had shown up, she could smell it. But she couldn't smell anything this time. _Something _is_ wrong_, she thought.

And then the Interlopers launched their ambush.


	16. Ambushed

Chapter Sixteen: Ambushed

* * *

_Tacitus-4._

"This is the enemy's stronghold," explained Tanzanite, regarding a mockup of the laser. "The main cannon cannot reach us on the planet's surface, but the weapon contains more Interloper troops than we can likely handle on our own. I suggest that a stealthy approach would be our best option."

The various Citrine soldiers regarded the model. Their captain spoke: "I don't really know that stealth is our strong suit."

Onyx chimed in. "I hear ya there."

The Citrine captain continued. "Are you sure we can't rig up some sort of communicator from the wreckage of the _Soul_? Tell Homeworld where we are, warn 'em about the laser? I'm sure you and the Peridots could whip something like that up."

"That option is no longer valid," explained Tanzanite. "The Interlopers have no doubt taken what remained of the wreckage by now. We observed their scouting ships arrive in the area. Attacking the base is our only option."

"Maybe we could just lay low," said Pearl. "We could hide from the Interlopers until help arrives."

"What?" said the Citrine captain. "What you're suggesting is insane! The longer we stick around here, the more ships that cannon is gonna destroy! I agree that we can't fight the Interlopers head-on, but there has to be some other way."

"Well, sneaking is easier with fewer people," said Onyx. "Maybe just send in two or three Citrines, so they won't get spotted as easy."

"But what if they _do_ get spotted?" said Pearl. "If there's only a few of them, won't it be easier for the Interlopers to defeat them?"

"Excuse me, but who said you could discuss tactics with us?" the Citrine said. "Why don't you go sit with Emerald?" Pearl shrunk inwards.

"How 'bout a bit of both?" Onyx suggested. "We'll sneak up on them, and spring an ambush. That way we can make the most of our low numbers. Back on Earth, Emerald called that 'guerilla warfare.' We don't have numbers or tech, so we'll have to use tactics."

"That sounds like it could work," the Citrine said. "What say you?"

"While not a perfect plan by any means," Tanzanite said, which Onyx seemed to take offense to, "it is most likely our best option. We shall storm the stronghold at once."

"Excuse me," Pearl piped up again, "but won't they see us when they notice our glowing?"

"And what does a Pearl know about guerilla warfare?" asked the Citrine.

"Actually," said Onyx, "she may have a point. Our gemstones do kinda glow a bit, especially when we summon our weapons. Maybe we should wait for morning?"

"Sounds good," the Citrine said. "That way we have some more time to strategize. Should I go tell the troops?"

"Indeed," Tanzanite said. "I shall inform Emerald of our plan." Tanzanite walked off towards where Emerald lay, with Pearl following behind her.

Left alone, Onyx climbed up to a small rocky outcropping on the mountain. From there, she could see the Interlopers' weapon in the distance. It had stopped firing earlier that day, though it still hummed with activity. Ships flew in and out, and she could just make out the forms of soldiers walking here and there. It was heavily defended, and their raid the next morning would not be easy.

"Onyx, I have informed Emerald of our plan," said Tanzanite back on the ground. Onyx hopped down to her. "We shall attack in the morning."

"Okay, great. What should we do until morning, exactly?" asked Onyx.

"Nothing," said Tanzanite. "We have done all the strategizing we are able to do. We know nothing of the base's interior, and our approach formations have been decided upon."

"Okay, so just lay low, got it," said Onyx. "So...by the way, how exactly is Emerald doing over there?"

"Better. She seems much calmer, and Pearl is with her now. I see no need to worry any further."

"So, you're sure she'll be okay?" Onyx asked. "I dunno, it's just...I'm worried about her. You saw how she was, what if that gets worse? What if it gets worse and stays that way?"

"I, too, am concerned for Emerald's wellbeing," explained Tanzanite. "However, I find that Emerald herself does not want us fretting over her. She has assured me on numerous occasions that she can take care of herself."

"Yeah, I guess so," said Onyx. "She's pretty tough, she'll probably be fine. I guess _we're_ the ones I should be worried about, right, Tanz? Tanz?"

Tanzanite was looking into the tall grass just beyond the base of the mountain. "Something is out there," she said.

"Tanz, this planet is inhabited. There's loads of organics crawling around out there, you probably-"

Onyx was cut off as a scream cut through the night, followed with multiple bolts of plasma shooting from the grass. "Interlopers! Get down!" she yelled.

Standing up from their prone positions in the grass, a small army of Scavengers converged on the wayward battalion. The Quartzes formed a defensive half-circle in front of the less hardy Gems. Emerald ran over, carrying Pearl in her arms.

"Stay here!" she shouted, placing Pearl behind a couple of Citrines. She joined the battle, frying the circuits of several Scavengers with her electricity. "Onyx, on me!"

The black Quartz hurried over to her leader, shoulder-checking a Predator on the way there. She summoned her hammer, smashing a few of the robots that had surrounded Emerald. "What's our move?" she yelled.

Emerald fired a barrage of spines into the crowd. "We just need to keep them from surrounding us," she said. "Everyone! Close in on the mountain!"

The Gems began to retreat towards the side of the mountain, pressing their backs against the stone. Just when they had hunkered down, a low rumbling could be heard from within the mountain. The Interlopers fell back, as they knew what was about to happen. The mountainside exploded in a burst of rock and dust.

Out from an underground cavern came the largest Interloper the Gems had seen yet. It wasn't quite as tall as Yellow Diamond, though it's head did make its way up to her chest. Like a vast beetle, it climbed out of its hole on four insectoid legs. Both its arms terminated in gigantic blaster cannons, which it then used to open fire on the Gems. While many of them managed to duck or dodge out of the way, many more still were destabilized by its explosive shots.

"What the frack is that thing!?" yelled Onyx. The titanic Interloper, which was called a Carnivore, aimed one of its cannons at the Gem, and fired. The resulting explosion knocked her back several dozen feet.

"Onyx!" yelled Emerald. She unleashed her electricity on the massive machine, but it barely reacted. Instead, it fired two more shots at Emerald. She was able to dodge them, but the shockwaves still made her stumble a bit. Emerald ran closer to the robot, attempting to get up close and personal with her blade. The weapon cut through its metal, but it was too big for the slashes to do any meaningful damage. The Carnivore lifted its giant leg, bringing it down with massive force towards Emerald. The Beryl was able to dodge to the side at the last moment. Switching up her strategy, Emerald climbed up her attacker's leg, attempting to get to its head.

Meanwhile, the Citrines were holding off the other Interlopers. "Hang on, Mera, I'm coming!" yelled Onyx as she ran through a barrage of gunfire. Distracted with trying to shake Emerald off, the Carnivore did not notice her approach until her hammer collided with its leg. It stumbled slightly, but the only real accomplishment was making it take notice of her. "Aw, crack."

The machine brought its leg down on top of Onyx, who was nowhere near as nimble as Emerald. At first it seemed that she had been crushed completely, but once the dust cleared it was seen that she had caught its leg, holding it above her head. Onyx was strong, but it was clear this took a tremendous effort.

With the massive beast occupied, Emerald was able to leap onto its shoulder. She tore at its chassis with her blade and her claws, even ripping wires out with her teeth. But despite her efforts, the Interloper was unperturbed, knocking her to the ground with a swipe of its mighty arm. Onyx, being unable to bear the weight any longer, threw the leg backwards as hard as she could muster. The robotic menace stumbled, partially slipping down into the hole it had emerged from.

"Give it everything you've got!" yelled Emerald as she pumped more electricity into the enemy. Onyx threw her hammer, several of the Citrines armed with projectile weapons attacked it from afar, and some even charged it. Despite everything, it still stood strong. It slammed its arm into the ground, right on top of a Citrine, as it tried to pull itself from the hole.

"It isn't working, My Emerald!" said Tanzanite. "We may have to retreat!

"Retreat to _where_!?" cried Emerald. "There's nothing but field all around us!"

As they struggled to defeat this metal monster, Pearl was the first of the Gems to notice the ship approaching. Once the big one showed up, she hid out of sight in the tall grass, huddled in a ball as the battle raged on. Looking up, she noticed a whitish shape approaching in the distance. It flew low to the ground, explaining how it hadn't been blown apart by the cannon. Pearl knew this ship wasn't part of their armada from earlier, but she knew she had seen it before somewhere.

The lesser Interlopers noticed the ship as well, feebly attempting to fire on it. The rectangular vessel responded with guns of its own, mowing down the hapless robots. The fighting by the mountain had ceased, all participants now being well aware of this new arrival.

The Carnivore tilted its head upwards towards this new combatant. It fired two rounds at it, which exploded against the ship's hull. While clearly taking some damage, the shields held. The Gem vessel's main cannons turned to face the massive machine, two energy projectiles exploding against its chest.

Despite the sizeable hole in its midsection, the Interloper refused to give up the ghost. Recovering from the shock, it aimed its cannons to fire again. The ship fired before it had the chance, decimating it with two more rounds.

The Carnivore had at this point nearly been halved, but still would not die. Attempting to drag its smoldering frame from its hole, the ship fired once again. These final shots would do the trick, as the Interloper, now little more than a molten torso, tumbled down into the depths where it was finally still.

All hostiles now having been eliminated, the ship touched down on the crater-filled field. Remaining Gems picked themselves and their destabilized comrades up out of the dirt. Emerald warily approached the ship, as she would recognize it anywhere.

The entry hatch of the _Xenocide_ slid downwards, and a Gem Emerald was all too familiar with slowly walked down it. "Tell me, Mera: why is it that I'm always mopping up your messes?" said Goshenite.


	17. The Duel

Chapter Seventeen: The Duel

* * *

_Tacitus-4._

Gems walked around the battleground, picking up their destabilized fellows and tending to the wounded. Many of the Gems who arrived aboard the _Xenocide_ brought the destroyed bodies of Interlopers onboard the ship for research purposes. Goshenite strolled over to Emerald, Red Topaz by her side.

"I don't understand," said Emerald. "How did you find us? And how did you get past the weapon?"

Goshenite chuckled. "Maxixe found you, of course. It's her job to monitor Interloper activity, and a bunch of Gem ships just disappearing in Interloper space really raises an alarm! As for the cannon, I just flew in from over there," she said, pointing towards the horizon. "A better question would be, how did you lot survive?"

"It sure wasn't easy," said Onyx, walking over. "We crash-landed. Our plan was to ambush their base, but we got ambushed instead."

"As much as I hate to admit it," said Emerald, "it's a good thing you showed up when you did."

"I suppose it is, isn't it?" Goshenite said. "Well, no need to ambush now that we've got more firepower!" Goshenite gestured towards the _Xenocide_.

"Good to hear!" Onyx said. "It's been a rough few weeks for us. I'm sure you heard about research station Locus?"

"Yes, I did. Though, there is one thing I don't understand: how did you realize that the station had been taken over so soon after it had occurred?"

"Eh. Got lucky, I guess," Onyx said.

"And what about the Valurian?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emerald said quickly. Perhaps a bit too quickly.

Goshenite grinned. "Oh yes, I heard about him. Tell me, what exactly were you doing on Valuris before the incident?"

"None of that matters," Emerald said. "We should just focus on taking down that cannon for now."

"On the contrary, it matters quite a bit," said Goshenite. "As White Diamond's most trusted lieutenant, I always have to be on the lookout for potential subterfuge. Any secret could be a conspiracy when you're this high up." She walked closer to Emerald. "So tell me: why were you conspiring with a known Gem expert offworld? What did he know about your own species that you didn't?"

"Okay, you two, maybe we should relax a little bit…" said Onyx.

"This does not concern you, Quartz," Goshenite said. She leaned closer to Emerald until their foreheads were almost touching. "How did the Interlopers know exactly where to find you? What happened aboard that battleship back on Homeworld? How did you survive while all those other ships were shot down? Could it be that you're…" Goshenite smirked cruelly. "...working with them?"

Emerald scowled. "I am not, nor have I ever been, a traitor. Ever since we were attacked, I have done everything I can to destroy the Interlopers."

As Emerald angered, Goshenite noticed that one of her eyes changed slightly. The pupil of her left eye shrank inwards, becoming slit-like. She had seen this before with Bismuths, but never an Emerald. Also, her canine teeth ever-so-slightly became longer and sharper.

Quickly, Goshenite put two and two together. Before Emerald could react, Goshenite tore the cape off her left arm, revealing the corruption. Goshenite backed away, clearly unsettled by what she saw. "W-what in the void in going on!? What happened to you!?"

Emerald stepped back, trying to cover up her arm. "It's nothing, it's nothing," she lied, trying desperately to deflect attention away from herself.

"I've known it all along, but I never thought it would come to this," Goshenite said. "You really _are_ an off-color. That's why you teamed up with the Interlopers." Goshenite drew her staff, pointing one end at Emerald.

"Hey, back off, pal!" Onyx stepped in front of her commander. "Emerald ain't no off-color, and she definitely ain't no traitor!"

"Topaz, restrain this one," Goshenite said. The red Gem complied, pulling Onyx out of the way. She managed to squirm out of her grip, but Red Topaz drew her weapon: a spiked ball attached to a chain emerged from her gem, which she used to restrain Onyx. Onyx managed to draw her own hammer, though, and shoved the chains off.

"Mera, get out of here!" she yelled, with Red Topaz attempting to bind her once more. The two behemoths clashed as Emerald backed away from Goshenite.

"Yes, run away, traitor! Run back to your masters!" Goshenite swung her staff around to intimidate Emerald, who stood firm.

"No," said the green Gem. "I'm staying right here. A traitor might run, or a traitor might attack. But I'm standing right here."

"Then that will make this _easier_!" Goshenite yelled, lunging at Emerald. The pair of them tumbled backwards, dangerously close to the cavern carved by the Carnivore. Emerald summoned her weapon: she wasn't a traitor for defending herself.

"I've wanted to do this for eons!" growled Goshenite. She stabbed downward with her staff, Emerald catching it with her corrupted hand. They grappled on the ground before Emerald was able to throw Goshenite off of her, but the white Gem still held on. The resulting momentum caused both of them to be dragged into the hole, where they fell.

Sliding down the slope, Emerald and Goshenite threw punches and slashed with their weapons until, after what seemed like minutes, they reached the bottom. They rolled off of the inert form of the destroyed Carnivore, before getting to their feet and re-engaging. Each of them swung their weapons at the other, each one so nimble that neither could be hit.

"Goshenite, this is getting ridiculous!" Emerald said. "Are you really so stupid as to think that I'm a traitor!?"

Goshenite had long since lost her composure. "Shut up! Why should I listen to an off-color like you!?" She drove her staff towards Emerald, who deflected it with her blade. "You're a danger to Gemkind! A danger to us all!" She swung her staff once more, Emerald catching it in her hands. They wrestled for control of the weapon, their struggle leading them deeper into what seemed to be an underground facility.

"I. Am. Not. A. TRAITOR!" yelled Emerald, unleashing a stream of electricity towards her foe. Goshenite flew backwards and smashed through a wall, which Emerald leapt through towards her. She snarled, now having taken a shift for the beastial. She swung down with her clawed hand, which Goshenite blocked with her staff.

As they struggled, the pair soon noticed that they were not alone. Numerous Interlopers swarmed around them, preparing to take down these intruders. One of them fired a shot, which Goshenite pushed Emerald into. She growled, turning in the direction the blast came from.

Goshenite stood up and began slicing through the Interlopers. Emerald did the same. However, seeing her enemy distracted, Goshenite charged her. Emerald was only just able to dodge the staff as Goshenite thrust it towards her, impaling a Scavenger with it instead. Emerald responded with a bolt of electricity, which Goshenite powered through. Not one to be outdone, the white Gem's entire body began to glow. She knew what was coming, but Emerald was unable to divert her eyes as Goshenite emitted a tremendous flash of light. Emerald was blinded, as were most of the Interlopers. Goshenite had intended to destabilize Emerald, but as she was now flailing like an animal, she decided to take out the Interlopers that her power had affected instead. Emerald was tearing through many of them in her frenzy as well

This conflict continued for some time. Emerald and Goshenite were locked in their duel, each one determined to incapacitate the other. Their former comrades had taken temporary precedent over the Interlopers, who continued to flood their battlefield. As their duel continued, they destroyed any of the robots who tried to interrupt them. Their battle continued on and on, like an endless dance, until all the machines had fallen and the combatants were exhausted.

"I...I won't let you...destroy us…" said Goshenite. "You...you're nothing! You think I'm...tired? I've only just begun!" She swung her staff, leaving a scratch on Emerald's chest. "You're weak!" Another slash, another wound. "You can't win! I am... I am Homeworld's champion! _I_ am the Diamond's chosen warrior! Not you! _Me_!" She raised her staff above her head, bringing it down towards Emerald. But she had had enough.

Emerald caught the staff in her left hand. "Enough," she growled, pulling the weapon to the side. She shot Goshenite back against the wall with a jolt of electricity. The white Gem charged back towards her, but she was too quick: she swing with her corrupted arm, connecting and sending Goshenite to the floor. Three deep claw marks had formed on the side of her face.

She grabbed Goshenite by the hair. "I am not a _traitor_!" she yelled, slamming her head into the ground. "I am not an _off-color_!" _Slam_. "I am a _loyal. Homeworld. Gem!_" _Slam. Slam. Slam._ "But then, you knew that all along, didn't you?" Emerald lifted Goshenite up by the neck, before throwing her against a wall. Goshenite crumpled to the ground in a heap, but her physical form remained. Emerald turned to leave.

Goshenite coughed. "Emerald..." she said weakly. "Where do you think you're going? I'm not done yet!" She tried to get up, before falling back to the ground in pain.

Emerald stopped walking. "That doesn't matter anymore. Because I'm done with you." She turned away, and continued walking. She couldn't find where they had come in, so all she could do now was to go further into the compound.

"You can't just walk away from me!" Goshenite said, crawling after her. "Emerald! Get back here! "Emerald! EMERALD!" But the Gem had already left, leaving Goshenite alone in the destroyed room.


	18. Infiltration

Chapter Eighteen: Infiltration

* * *

_Tacitus-4, underground Interloper complex._

_This place is massive_, Emerald thought to herself as she crept through the tunnels. _It's no wonder they were able to ambush us so easily. This facility must stretch for miles._

At first, Emerald was only trying to find a way out. However, because the structure was so massive, she soon ruled out finding the exit as an impossible task. Instead, she came to the conclusion that the expanse of underground hallways must connect to the Interlopers' weapon, which she now set off on her own to find.

It was like Onyx had said: sneaking is easier with fewer people. Emerald was able to creep through the cold grey hallways, ducking behind the occasional crate or piece of machinery, and the Interlopers were none the wiser. They did not even appear to be on high alert, despite her and Goshenite's tussle earlier. Perhaps word had not yet spread this far. Perhaps it never would, seeing as the Interlopers that had attacked them were decommissioned.

Although, it was also like Pearl had said: being alone, Emerald would be more vulnerable if she did end up being found. She wasn't too worried, considering how many Interlopers she had defeated in the past. Still, the Interlopers had strength in numbers, and their numbers were great here. Leaping off a catwalk to avoid being seen by a patrol of Raptors, Emerald considered her mutation. It seemed that despite its effects on her mental health, she was becoming stronger due to it. In addition to the claws she had gained, and the sharp spines, she was becoming more aggressive. On one hand, she remembered her episodes with Pearl and Heliodor. On the other hand, she had defeated Goshenite in hand-to-hand combat for the first time in her life.

Emerald ducked into a small, empty room to ponder her situation. She studied her corrupted hand, the source of all her troubles. _Is this what I'm meant to be? What if...what if this is what I've always been? If this isn't corruption, but an expression of my true self. All my inner rage, twisting my form into something more compatible._ Emerald chuckled silently to herself. _Listen to me, waxing poetic like this. As if me turning into a monster could be a _good_ thing. But...could it?_ She stared at the claws the fingers on her left hand had become, following the trail of corruption up to her head. She felt her teeth, all of which had grown sharper, especially the canines. As she felt her teeth, the simple action of turning her head to the side caused her to notice something: her right shoulder looked nearly identical to her left one.

Emerald knew it was getting worse, but this sight drove the point home. _That's it. No more wasting time_, she thought. _Right now, I've got to destroy the Interlopers._

Wait. That wasn't right. She needed to destroy the Interlopers, yes, but what else was she supposed to do? Something to help with that goal. Why was she in this tiny room in the first place?

Suddenly, she remembered Heliodor's words: first came the physical changes, then the emotional instability, and now the memory loss. She had begun stage three. Pushing through her anger at this development, Emerald wracked her brain to uncover why she was here. _I remember...I fought with Goshenite...and I think I won. But why were we fighting? Because she saw my corruption. I remember now...we fought with the Interlopers because we came to Tacitus-4...and now I have to...destroy their weapon!_ Reaching her conclusion, Emerald stood up and exited the tiny room, but not before making sure none of the robots were nearby.

_Okay, the best way to shut this thing down would be to disable the core_, Emerald thought. _Now all I have to do is find it. Easier said than done. I doubt these things have a directory hidden in here somewhere…_ With no way of knowing where anything in the entire base was located, Emerald decided to head upwards. As far as she was aware, the cannon was the only Interloper structure on this planet, at least nearby, that was above ground. Given its power, the core would likely be just below it, if not inside the cannon proper.

Nimbly climbing up several stories worth of walkways and robotic arms, Emerald wondered what her crew was doing right now. _No doubt looking for me_, she thought. _I know them. But is Goshenite's crew looking for her, or attacking the weapon? Maybe I won't need to disable the core at all._

Before long, the levels became narrower and narrower. Emerald was approaching the cannon. This meant that defenses would be tighter, so she would have to be more careful. Sure enough, masses of Interlopers of all kinds patrolled the halls, just waiting to open fire on any Gem dumb enough to enter these halls alone. Fortunately for Emerald, there is a very fine line between stupidity and bravery.

It was then that she saw it: an elongated, spherical shape in the center of the room, pulsating with a harsh red energy, that was unmistakably the core. It was much too big to attack from the outside. Even if she was to attempt it, she would no doubt be spotted by the Interlopers, and blasted to oblivion.

Down below the core, Emerald saw a smaller room guarded by a pair of Predators. It was obvious that this was the core's control center. Perhaps she could disable it from there. Making sure none of the sentries spotted her, she hopped from catwalk to catwalk towards the entrance. Emerald soon landed on the roof of the control center. She could take out one of the Predators at a time, but the other one would surely raise the alarm. She opted to fire a single spine further down the pathway, in the hopes that only one of the guards went to investigate where the other stayed behind.

Sure enough, the dual Predators split up. Emerald summoned her blade and leapt down on the one that stayed behind, slicing deep into its chassis. She slowly snuck up on the other one, running it through before it was any the wiser. She dragged the pair of dead Interlopers into the control room with her before any other guards could see them.

_Now to shut this down_, Emerald thought. _I doubt just hitting the off switch would work. I'll have to something a bit more drastic. How about I make it run a bit _too_ well?_ By that, Emerald meant overclocking the core to a catastrophic degree, which she set out to do. She did not consider, however, Interloper technology being so different from that of the Gems. Before she could even figure out how to activate the console, she heard a voice behind her.

"If it isn't the Emerald who had been giving the Interlopers such a hard time!" the voice said, high-pitched and raspy. "Glithenes has waited so long to meet her."

Emerald turned around, brandishing her blade. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Wherever the voice was emanating from, she could not see any obvious source in the room with her.

"He has waited such a long time! How he has longed to _rend_ her fragile form, to see her writhe in agony before him! He has been far too restless for far too long, but today he will finally kill her."

The voice grew silent. Emerald looked all around her, trying to find anywhere the voice could have come from. Before she could find anything, an Interloper tackled her to the ground from the ceiling. It was the same one she had seen on research station Helix.

The robot's fingers were claws like those on Emerald's left arm, glowing with a blue energy, which he used to tear at her. "Glithenes will cut her to ribbons! He will tear her limb from limb, and grind her stone to dust! He will be hailed as a hero for-"

Emerald shoved her assaulter off of her. The Interloper known as Glithenes emitted a lout, electronic shriek. Upon hearing this, numerous other Interlopers began swarming towards the room the two were in.

Emerald ducked down as blasts filled the room. Despite them seemingly being fired at random, none of them seemed to hit Glithenes. Emerald ran towards him, swinging her blade as she reached him. He leaned backwards out of the way. "The Emerald will never leave this place alive! She will fall to the darkness, and be lost forever!"

"What are you rambling about, you psycho?" growled Emerald. She struck at him once again, and he dodged just as before.

"Glithenes knows the Emerald is succumbing to her inner darkness," he said. "It will not be long before it consumes her." The Interlopers claws grazed Emerald. Each strike from him was minimal, but they added up.

Eventually, Emerald got careless, and a stray beam hit her chest. She stumbled backwards just enough for Glithenes to drive his claws through her back and out her shoulder. She cried out in pain as he forced her to her knees.

"Glithenes can feel the Emerald's rage," he said. "Her sadness, her fear, all bubbling up to the surface. His only regret is he could only cause a small amount of it." Glithenes drove the claws further through Emerald's form. "Wouldn't she like to give in to them? To let her emotions take hold, to become one with her inner self? Perhaps she just needs some more persuasion…" Glithenes leaned in closer, his mouthless face now only a few inches from Emerald's ear. "What if she knew that she had failed all of her friends? Onyx, and Tanzanite, and the poor Pearl? All left alone to die, because Emerald was too weak to protect them...I wonder how she must feel? If Glithenes was Emerald, he would want to let his strength take hold, to become something else entirely. And that is what she must do."

For a moment, it seemed as though Emerald would comply. Her features twisted into something unrecognizably monstrous; all she could feel were hatred and rage; the pain was so bad she had nearly forgotten her own name. Glithenes was filled with satisfaction knowing he would be the one to destroy the Interlopers' greatest foe. But she did not transform. Something deep within her refused to allow her to give in to these feelings. Instead, she grabbed Glithenes and swung him around her and against the wall.

"Too bad she won't give up that easily," Emerald said. "You want me gone? You'll have to kill me the old-fashioned way." She crouched into a combat stance with her blade outstretched.

"Glithenes will happily oblige!" the Interloper yelled. He leapt at Emerald, but before he could reach her, something cut him off. A staff, sharpened at both ends, flew through the air, and pinned her enemy to the wall. Emerald was all too familiar with this weapon.

Emerald turned around. Outside of the control room, in front of a trail of destroyed Interlopers, was Goshenite. She walked with a limp, still beat up from her and Emerald's conflict.

Goshenite opened her mouth to speak, but Emerald cut her off. "Save it. Right now, we need to disable this weapon."

Behind her, Glithenes had pulled the staff from his chest. "Emerald and Goshenite will never get that chance!" The robot emitted another shriek, this one calling a pair of Carnivores in from above. Before Emerald could do anything, the gigantic machines lit up the control room with their guns. The bars holding the room up gave way before their assault, sending it, along with Emerald, Glithenes, and Goshenite, tumbling down to the floors below.


	19. Into the Catacombs

Chapter Nineteen: Into the Catacombs

* * *

_Tacitus-4, unknown location._

Wherever Emerald was, it was dark. And silent. Actually, that wasn't true: there was a definite ringing in her ears. The Beryl stood up, coughing, and brushed the dust off of herself. It took her a few minutes to remember that Glithenes had dropped the room the three of them were in down to wherever they were now. Judging from the wreckage of the room, it had been a long way down.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emerald saw a glint of light amongst the rubble. Correctly assuming it to be Goshenite's gem, Emerald stumbled through the wrecked metal and foundation towards it. Judging by the piles of rubble around the gem, Goshenite had been crushed by the falling debris after hitting the bottom. Emerald silently thanked the stars she didn't share her fate before picking up the gemstone.

Upon inspection, the gemstone did not appear to be chipped or cracked in any way. For a moment, Emerald considered leaving Goshenite amongst the wreckage, but only for a moment. Instead, she contained herr gem within a green bubble, which then disappeared, having vanished back to Emerald's quarters on Homeworld.

Having seen or heard on sign of her enemy, Emerald walked off to search for Glithenes. Hopefully, even if he had escaped, walking would eventually lead her to a way out. Emerald held up her right arm, a light shining from her gem to illuminate the darkened passageways.

_Where exactly is this place?_ thought Emerald. _And why is it so dark?_ She continued to walk through the corridors, which seemed to be lacking doors or windows. Light from the stories above barely reached down to the bottom. _I must be miles down,_ she thought.

Before long, the narrow passageway led into a larger room, still divided by shelves of some sort. Emerald's attention was drawn to yet another glint of light on one of the shelves, to which she walked closer. Sitting there was a gem, small and blue. It seemed to be an Aquamarine.

"What are you doing down here?" said Emerald quietly. She reached forward to bubble the gem, but her eye soon caught another gem sitting next to it. And another, and another, until she realized this entire room was filled with gemstones. Looking around, all of the shelves containing them appeared to be connected to one another like some sort of assembly line.

"What is this place?" she whispered. Whatever it was, the entire apparatus exuded a sense of palpable dread, for reasons unknown to her. Emerald shined her light around, trying to find a beginning or end to the veritable maze of conveyor belts and crane arms.

Without warning, light flooded the room as the power turned back on. The machinery hummed to life, the gems being taken someplace Emerald could not see. She tried to follow the path of the conveyors before she heard a familiar voice.

"Does the Emerald like what she sees?" asked Glithenes. Emerald looked up to see him perched on top of the assembly line. "Isn't it quite a lovely carnival ride? Perhaps she would like to try it out?"

"You!" shouted Emerald, summoning her blade. "What are you doing here? What is this thing?"

Glithenes cackled. "This wondrous machine is where she is about to go!" Before Emerald could inquire what he meant by that, the Interloper scurried down the machinery.

"Hey!" shouted Emerald as she began to give chase. Glithenes' mirthful laughter echoed throughout the room as he ran, as if he was mocking his pursuer. Emerald was repeatedly cut off by blockades in the form of crossing belts, forcing her to go around, or over or under in some cases. Soon enough, Glithenes was able to give her the slip.

"The Emerald cannot even catch me?" he said, his voice seeming to come from everywhere at once. "But she is supposed to be a great hero of Homeworld! She, who has slain Omnulus and Pythoriax, is little more than a blind fool, running around and around without a clue!"

"Aw, shut up!" Emerald yelled. "If you think I'm such a weakling, why don't you come face me yourself?"

More laughter. "Glithenes may be eccentric, but he is not stupid! He has seen the Emerald strike down more than a few of his minions. He knows she is a force to be reckoned with." Suddenly, Emerald fell to her knees as she felt the sting of three claws rake across her back. "Which will make it all the more gratifying when he kills her _aaall by himself_!"

Emerald groaned, standing back up. She fired an electric blast at Glithenes, who simply slid to the side, giggling. Emerald fired more blasts, but he dodged every one, making his way back to the top of the machinery. "You see? Emerald is no match for him! She is fierce, but he is clever! She is tough, but he is nimble!"

Emerald growled; she had begun to take on a more monstrous form. Swinging her left arm in a horizontal arc, firing several spines towards him. Some hit their target, but did no real damage. Glithenes only laughed, leaping down away from Emerald.

"Get back here!" snarled Emerald, giving chase. As she rounded the corner, the Interloper jumped out of his hiding place, scratching her across the face. Emerald swung blindly with blade and claws, as Glithenes ducked and dodged each swing.

"Is the Emerald sure she is feeling alright?" he said. "Perhaps she would like to give up. It would be much easier to admit defeat, after all. Easier for her, and easier for Glithenes."

"Go to void!" she growled. She thrust out both of her arms and fired a giant electrical blast. This one hit its target, as Glithenes was blown backwards into a shelf. Numerous gemstones fell to the floor, followed by the Interloper himself.

"Emerald wants to do it the hard way," he said softly. "But, easy of hard, it is not Glithenes' choice. Emerald will lose in the end, just like all of his foes." He picked up a Larimar off the ground and hucked it in Emerald's direction. It barely phased her, but it did distract her long enough for him to scurry away once more.

After bubbling the Larimar and sending her away, Emerald gave chase once more. She soon found where he had gone, and where all the gemstones were headed: The belts led into a gigantic pit, which they were dumped into. Dreading where this led, Emerald looked down. Sure enough, the pit was a massive grinder. The Gems that fell in were ground up into dust, their energy presumably used as power.

Needless to say, Emerald was horrified. Scooping up as many gems as she could, she desperately tried to disable the conveyor belts that carried these Gems to their fate.

"Is the Emerald upset?" asked Glithenes from the other side of the pit. "She doesn't need to be, she will be joining them soon enough." Glithenes held a small lavender gemstone in his hand. He pressed his thumb against its surface until small cracks appeared, and increased the pressure until it shattered to pieces. "Melvirius was right, Gems are so much more fragile than they look. Perhaps if-"

Glithenes' train of thought had been interrupted, because Emerald struck him with a bolt of electricity. He stumbled, nearly falling into the pit himself. This gave Emerald an idea, though not exactly a good one.

Glithenes was quick: if Emerald tried to run around the outside of the grinder to get to him, he would be gone before she even came close. She would have to find another way over. Hold on, that was it: over! Tearing a metal handrail up out of the ground, Emerald placed it against the conveyor belt in such a way that all the gemstones would be diverted onto the floor. Not the most dignified solution, but a heck of a lot better than being ground into powder.

Using the momentum from the conveyor belt to build up speed, Emerald launched herself across the pit with an electrically-charged leap. As she soared through the air, she fired two bolts to either side of Glithenes just to make sure he could not get away. She collided directly with him, sending the two tumbling to the ground.

Emerald had very many choice words to speak to him, but was so consumed by her emotions that she did not say any of them. Instead, she growled animalistically as she tore chunks out of the robot's armor. Glithenes did not seem to have anything to say either.

Glithenes was eventually able to slip out from under her. He responded with claws of own, but now that Emerald was fighting him on equal ground, she was able to block most of the slashes. Glithenes leapt into the air, intent on sending his claws directly through Emerald. His left hand instead glanced off of Emerald's blade as she caught his arm with her teeth. With the sound of rending metal, Emerald tore off Glithenes' left forearm. Sparks flew from the hole where it used to be.

Glithenes stumbled and fell backwards. "Emerald is...is too strong for Glithenes to take on alone! That is what Melvirius told him! But his pursuit of glory clouded his judgement!" Not interested in hearing his story, Emerald dug her claws into his shoulder and lifted him over her head, before throwing him into the grinder.

But while she expected to hear the sounds of him being shredded into scrap, that is not the sound that came. Instead, Emerald heard a kind of scratching sound. She looked over the edge, and saw that Glithenes had dug his claws into the side of the pit to halt his fall.

Her corruption-induced emotional instability lead Emerald to abandon all reason, and leap down on top of him. She caught herself with her blade, grabbing at him with her free hand.

All of a sudden, an explosion rang out quite some distance above them. The lights went out, and the grinder beneath them slowly wound to a halt. The other Gems must have destroyed the core.

With a mocking laugh, Glithenes pushed off from the wall and fell down below. Her heart set on ending him, Emerald did the same. Upon reaching the bottom, slipping through the inactive blades, Emerald found the ground to be covered in dust. Shining her light in the floor, she found it to be covered in the powdered remains of ground-up Gems. This was enough to shock Emerald back to rationality.

She shone her light all around her, trying to find her opponent in the darkness. She could hear his laughter echoing, and his scampering through the dust, but wherever she shone her light there was nothing.

"The Emerald will pay for severing Glithenes' arm!" she heard him say. He rushed out of the shadows and sliced at Emerald, before disappearing once again. "He will not be bested! He has regained the upper hand!" Several more times, Glithenes made himself visible just long enough to slash at Emerald. Each time, Emerald tried to strike back at him with her claws, as she was using her gem as a light, but each time she missed. "You will die here, alone, with no one to save you!"

Emerald knew that if she couldn't think of something soon, he would be right. Emerald fired out bursts of electricity in every direction, but none of them hit their target. However, each shot temporarily lit up the room. This gave Emerald an idea.

Emerald disabled her light. She knew this would leave her vulnerable, but she needed both hands. Besides, Glithenes was winning with the light on, anyway. She concentrated, building up static deep within her. Glithenes sliced into her form several more times, but she concentrated despite the pain. When her energy reached its peak, she unleashed a titanic surge of electricity upwards. The whole chamber lit up as the surge traveled through the metal of the saws above them. Now she could see.

Once more, Glithenes dove at her. Emerald summoned her blade and slashed as he reached her, severing his remaining hand.

Glithenes stumbled, and Emerald seized her opportunity. She grabbed him with her left hand, her claws digging into the metal. Countless volts of electricity flowed through him. Emerald released her grip once she was sure he had been fried, yet he was still kicking.

He stood up, turning to face Emerald. He once again let out a metallic shriek, but Emerald silenced him by slashing across his face with her claws. He turned back, four gashes now torn into his face.

"Looks like you're the one who's alone," Emerald said. She jumped into the air, her blade outstretched, and brought it down directly through her enemy. Glithenes twitches, his eyes flickering. He stepped backwards a few feet, before he fell to both sides. Emerald had sliced him cleanly in half, straight down the middle. His eyes faded to a dull red, before finally fading to black.

The battle won, and having sustained many injuries, Emerald collapsed to the ground with a sigh. There she lay, amongst the remains of her fellow Gems, where her crew found her not long after.


	20. At Their Lowest

Chapter Twenty: At Their Lowest

* * *

_The _Xenocide_, en route to Homeworld._

Members of Emerald's and Goshenite's crew had found Emerald laying in a room with the floor covered in Gem dust. She was covered with scratches, and was unresponsive for the first few minutes. They bubbled all the Gems that were not yet shattered before tending to her. She seemed to be unaware of her surroundings, until they took her outside, where Pearl was waiting.

"My Diamond!" she yelled, running over to Emerald. "I mean, My Emerald-I mean, Emer-are you alright? What did they do to you?"

"I'm fine, Pearl," Emerald had said weakly. Pearl rushed over to embrace her.

Now, heading back to Homeworld aboard Goshenite's ship, Emerald was seated in a chair towards the back, far from the bridge. Pearl had refused to leave her side ever since they were reunited, and Onyx watched over her as well.

"This is bad business," said Onyx. "We keep killin 'em, but it doesn't do anything! I mean, look at this!" Onyx gestured towards a star-map of Interloper activity. They had thought that killing the Interloper generals would have crippled their fighting ability, but they still fought, strong as ever. Worse still, the Oculus was still making a beeline towards Homeworld.

Pearl wasn't listening, more concerned with her master. Emerald's teeth seemed to have become permanently sharpened, and both eyes were now slits.

"We have to destroy the Interlopers," Emerald whispered.

"Uh, yeah, that's the general idea," Onyx said. "Are you sure you're okay? You've seemed kinda tired since we found you."

Emerald looked around. "Where...where am I?" she asked, without the least bit of concern in her voice.

"My Emerald?" said Pearl. "We're on Goshenite's ship, remember? You told us you sent her back to Homeworld." She leaned in closer. "You still remember me...right?"

Emerald looked at Pearl, and smiled. "Of course I remember you," she said. She reached up with her uncorrupted hand and stroked Pearl's hair. The pink Gem smiled, seating herself in Emerald's lap.

Pearl rested her head against Emerald's shoulder. "Emerald, everything's gonna be okay, right?"

Emerald gently nuzzled Pearl's head. "Of course, little one. Everything is going to be just fine."

"Yeah, I hate to be _that_ Gem, but we've gotten no closer to dealing with this Interloper problem than day one," said Onyx. "It seems like everywhere we go, they're waiting for us!" Emerald nodded. "I mean, think about it: They attack Homeworld as a demonstration, Helix and Locus were traps, this whole Tacitus-4 business went _way_ south. It's like, we get called on a mission, the Interlopers have the upper hand, and we just barely manage to get out of there alive. They push us to our limits without even trying!"

Emerald scowled. "That's because we've been playing by their rules this whole time."

"What rules are those?" asked Onyx.

"It's like you said, they're always waiting for us," Emerald said. "They attack some base or outpost, and when we arrive, we fall right into their trap. We're losing because we've been being reactive. If we really want to hit them hard, we have to be proactive."

"Ah, going for a preemptive strike, eh?" Onyx said. "What did you have in mind?"

"It's not really a real plan yet, just an idea," said Emerald. "We thought taking out the generals would ruin their strategizing abilities, but that hasn't happened, at least, not to any meaningful extent. But back when I was fighting Glithenes, I had a thought: only Omnulus had any sort of effect on their strategy. Glithenes was just an executioner, and we don't really know what Pythoriax did. Think about it: Melvirius is their leader. If you want to kill an organic, you aim for the head."

"Or in this case, the _head_ of their armies," Onyx said. "I guess it's worth a shot."

"In any case, it's not like we have any better options. What say you, Pearl?"

But Pearl didn't answer. Emerald found that the pink Gem had fallen asleep in her lap, exhausted from the long and stressful day.

* * *

_Homeworld, Capital District. Three days later._

Yellow Diamond was aghast. "What happened to you on that planet?" she asked Emerald.

Emerald wanted to tell her that she and the other Diamonds had did this to her, but she couldn't bring herself to. It had taken hours of convincing from Heliodor just to request an audience with her Diamond. Her cape was no longer able to cover up the effects of the corruption, so she simply wore it behind her back.

"I'm not sure, My Diamond," said Emerald. "Science Minister Heliodor says that I'm slowly being overtaken by some sort of energy. I fear it may be permanent."

"And this is why you sought an audience with me?" asked Yellow.

"No, My Diamond. I've come to present a battle plan to you. I may have an idea on how to cripple the Interlopers' efforts."

"I've no interest on ideas you 'may' have, though I will hear any strategies you _do_ have," Yellow said.

"Of course, My Diamond. Maxixe, if you will?"

"Of course," said the blue Gem. Grand Spymaster Maxixe had been standing silently off to the side. The first thing Emerald did upon arriving back on Homeworld was speak to her about her plan.

The small Gem looked over some reports in her hand. Had her gemstone not been directly in the center of her face, she would have wrinkled her nose in concentration. "Emerald has suggested to me that a direct attack against Interloper leadership would be the best way to halt their advances. Specifically, she wishes to eliminate the Interloper general known as Melvirius."

"I see," said Yellow. "And you're certain this will have an effect on their armies?"

"My Diamond," Emerald said, "When Omnulus was destroyed, the Interlopers became much more chaotic in their attacks, but also much more disorganized. It stands to reason that eliminating a general weakens them significantly."

"Even without anyone to lead them, the Interlopers still fight; and they have enough numbers to still pose a significant threat. Why are you so certain killing this one will solve our problems?"

"Because Melvirius is the main general," Emerald said. "Intelligence indicates all the other generals answered to him. Also...I'm getting desperate. My Diamond, I want to do everything I can to help Homeworld before this corruption takes hold of me. Truth be told, I can't be certain killing Melvirius will solve all our problems. But it's the best option I-I mean, we have."

Yellow Diamond shook her head in exasperation. Her Pearl grinned, anticipating Emerald getting yelled at. "Fine," said the Diamond. "I'll hear you out. This had better be good."

"Yes, your Brilliance," said Maxixe. "Back when the Interlopers first attacked Homeword, we assumed that all four of their ships were standard, average battleships. Dreadnoughts, specifically."

"And?"

"I looked into the files, and I found that this isn't entirely true. You see, one of those ships, specifically, the one that attacked Sagitarius Sector, the one Emerald boarded, was actually slightly different than the other three. It was a small bit larger than the battleships of the same build we've seen since then, and with better armor and stronger weaponry."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" asked Yellow.

"Yes, your Brilliance. You see, I was assigned the task of keeping an eye on all Interloper activity within our galaxy. However, I may have extended my reach a bit to other galaxies as part of a personal project. And by 'personal project,' I mean curiosity. Anyway, this larger ship, which Emerald believes to be Melvirius' personal flagship, has been sighted frequenting an Interloper base two galaxies away, on the planet Alpus Beta, where it returns every three weeks to refuel. Emerald?"

The green Gem took the metaphorical baton. "My Diamond, if this intel is correct, Melvirius will be at this base tomorrow. This is my plan. I want to request full control of Homeworld's armadas for one final attack on this base."

Yellow Diamond leaned forward. "And you truly believe Melvirius' death will rid us of the Interlopers?"

"Not entirely, My Diamond, but I am certain killing him will reduce their tactical abilities to near-zero. It will strike a major blow to their assault, even if it doesn't destroy them entirely."

Yellow Diamond seemed to ponder this for a moment. Her Pearl seemed disappointed she didn't get to see anyone get shouted at. "Very well," Yellow said eventually. "I will permit this mission. You will go to Alpus Beta, and destroy this base in its entirety. Be aware that I am making a gamble in trusting your judgement, Supreme Admiral, so there will be dire consequences if the mission ends in failure."

"Yes, My Diamond," Emerald said, rubbing her left arm. She was sure there would be dire consequences no matter how it ended.

"I will begin rallying the fleets immediately. Supreme General Goshenite will accompany you."

Emerald looked up. "I'm sorry?"

"If this mission is as important as you have said it to be, you will need all the help you can get. As the _Soul Evaporator_ was destroyed, Goshenite's _Xenocide_ will be the new flagship for your fleet. Is that understood?"

Emerald nodded. "Yes, My Diamond."

"Good. Prepare to leave within twelve hours. Dismissed."

Emerald saluted, and walked out of the throne room. Outside, she saw someone she had not expected to: Goshenite was standing just outside the door, facing away from her towards Homeworld's skyline. The sun was setting, casting the planet-wide metropolis in shades of orange and pink.

Emerald considered saying something to her colleague, though she couldn't settle on what it would be. Instead, she turned to walk away, back to her quarters. She had gotten a few meters away when Goshenite spoke.

"You want to know why I hated you?" she said softly.

Emerald stopped. Her mind was focussed on the word choice: 'hated' rather than 'hate.' Past tense. She looked towards the white Gem, but said nothing.

Goshenite still stared out over the city below. "It's because I was afraid of you," she said. "I saw you as a threat."

Emerald wanted to yell at her, to confront her. _All this because you were _scared_ of me!?_ she wanted to say. But she said nothing.

"Everyone said you were an off-color," she said. "When they allowed you to join Yellow Diamond's ranks, I figured you must have done something, cheated the system somehow. And then all your talk of accepting off-colors and organics, I thought it was just you trying to cover your own back. And after the war, I...well, I just saw a lot of Rose Quartz in you."

"You mean that?" said Emerald. "In a good way, or a bad way?"

"Both, I guess," Goshenite continued. "You were one of our best and brightest, but with the way you carried on about empathy and all that, I figured you'd turn out a traitor, like her. And with as many Gems following you as there are, I thought you'd be even worse. Even before the war, I thought you would turn against Homeworld, and that I was the only one who could see it. I saw you as a threat, and that only I could save Homeworld from you."

Emerald clenched her fist. "I love Homeworld," she said. "The Diamonds, too. I may not agree with everything they do, but I would never turn my back on my home."

"I know," said Goshenite. "That's why you scared me."

"I scared you because I was _loyal_?"

"No. You scared me because, deep down, I knew you were right. I had to reason with myself, that surely someone as different as you couldn't be loyal to Homeworld. You cared about every single Gem under your command, even the lesser or weaker ones, and still do. Part of me wished I could do that, too. Care, I mean."

Emerald looked at her reflection in her gemstone. She always had cared about every Gem and organic she had come across, unless they were enemies, of course. Even then, everyone had always said that Emerald was capable of something few Gems were: empathy.

"So, that's why?" asked Emerald. "You hated me for so long, all because I had something that you didn't, and that scared you?" Goshenite didn't respond.

Emerald's demeanor softened slightly. "Do you still hate me?" Goshenite still didn't respond.

The two stared out towards the horizon for a few minutes, taking in the sights. Emerald didn't want to think about it, but she knew this could very well be the last time she saw Homeworld. At least, the last time she would know she was seeing Homeworld.

Finally, Goshenite spoke. "Bixbite's taking her armies in for one last assault on the Oculus. They're going to hit it with a Geode."

"There's no way that's going to work," Emerald said.

"That's why they're plan B," she responded. "We'd better get prepared. "We're plan A, after all."

With that, Goshenite strolled off down the walkways until she disappeared from sight. Emerald thought long and hard about their long-standing feud. She wasn't sure she was ready to forgive Goshenite yet, just as Goshenite hadn't seemed ready to apologize to her yet. Even still, it was a great weight off her chest to have such a thing be on the table.

Emerald stared at the skyline for several minutes, until the sun disappeared below the horizon. Emerald began her journey back to her quarters to prepare for her next and possibly final mission. She had something she needed to take care of first.


	21. Taking the Fight to Them

Chapter Twenty-One: Taking the Fight to Them

* * *

_Homeworld, Aquarius Sector. Emerald's residence._

"Pearl?" called Emerald. "Are you back there?"

This was it. The ships were ready, the soldiers were prepared, and Emerald was set to leave within minutes. When they left, Emerald knew she would not return, whether they won or lost. This was likely the last time she would see Homeworld, and Pearl.

"Right here, Emerald!" said Pearl, running around the corner to greet her. "Do you want me to accompany you on your mission?"

Emerald shook her head. "Not this time, Pearl. It's too dangerous. We're going directly into Interloper territory, and it's likely that most of us won't come home."

A brief look of worry crossed Pearl's face, quickly replaced with her calm gladness. "But you'll return, right, Emerald? You always return. The Interlopers can't stop you."

"That isn't the only issue," said Emerald. She looked down at her left arm. The corruption had spread across her chest, over to her other arm. "Even if we win, and I survive, I doubt I can come back. Not as I am now."

"But, what about Heliodor?" asked Pearl. "Surely she's found a way to cure you by now."

"Pearl...I'm sorry. If there is a solution, we...we haven't found it yet." said Emerald. Pearl seemed to accept this answer, as a weight appeared to press down on her entire form.

"I understand, Emerald," she said.

Emerald walked closer to Pearl, placing her arm around the pink Gem. "But that isn't what I wanted to say to you. Before I left, I wanted to take care of something I should have done from the beginning." She held up a holo-screen, showing a picture of Pearl surrounded by lines of jargon that meant nothing to the smaller Gem. Pearl tilted her head in confusion. "I did the paperwork, and I am now officially Your Emerald."

Pearl's face lit up, though still contained a layer of melancholy below the surface. "Y-you mean it, Em-My Emerald?"

"Of course," Emerald said. Pearl reached up, wrapping her arms around Emerald's neck. Emerald responded with an embrace as well, crouching down a small bit.

"I'm going to miss you, My Emerald," Pearl said, tears stinging her eyes.

"I will, too," said Emerald. The two broke off from their hug. Emerald wiped Pearl's tears away with her thumb. "In all the centuries I've lived, and all the accomplishments I've made, I can say without a doubt that meeting you was the best thing that has ever happened to me." Pearl smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her head against Emerald's palm.

"If we don't come back," Emerald continued in a much more official demeanor, "I've requested that you be transferred over to Morganite. You remember Morganite, right?" Pearl nodded. "She loves you, I know you'll be really happy with her." Emerald stood up, eyes still locked with Pearl's. "But Pearl, I just want you to know: no matter what happens to me, whether or not I make it back, I will always be your Emerald."

Pearl smiled, nodding, and choked back a sob. She ran to Emerald, hugging her as tight as she could. For just a moment, Emerald's left arm burned. Just as quickly as the sensation arrived, Emerald was able to push it away. She returned Pearl's embrace, where they stayed for several minutes.

"One more thing," said Emerald. Her gemstone glowed as she reached over to draw something out of it. "Even if we win today, the Interlopers aren't going to go away anytime soon. If I can't be there to protect you, I at least want to make sure you can protect yourself." From her gem, Emerald drew a curved pink object, lit by green diodes, and with a green crystal on its front.

"A-a gun?" asked Pearl.

"I know it's not exactly a typical gift," Emerald said, "but I wanted to make sure you were safe, just in case."

Pearl took the unfamiliar object from Emerald, placing it in her gem. "Thank you, My Emerald." she said uncertainly.

"Do you like the colors? Pink and green, like us. I told Morganite I wanted to make sure you could protect yourself, and this is what she suggested. Speaking of which, she'll teach you how to use it. But only use it if you're in danger, okay? I don't want you accidentally destabilizing some important Gem!"

"Don't worry, My Emerald, I'll be careful," she said. Pearl hesitated a moment, before saying "My Emerald, I...I love you."

Emerald placed her hand on Pearl's head. "I love you too, Pearl. May you live a long and happy life without me."

"I hope I do, too," said Pearl. "But it would be so much happier if you were in it."

Emerald smiled, wiping tears from her eyes as the two hugged for one final time. With one final look, she turned to leave. "Goodbye, Pearl. Everything is going to turn out just fine, trust me."

Before she left, Emerald took off her cape, draping it over the back of a chair. "I won't be needing this anymore," she said to herself. And just like that, she left, leaving Pearl alone in the empty house.

Pearl smiled through her tears. "Diamondspeed, My Emerald."

* * *

_Skies above Alpus Beta._

From the _Xenocide_'s bridge, Emerald counted about thirty battleships, seven dreadnoughts, and nine destroyers, among countless smaller ships. As the armada broke through the planet's atmosphere, Emerald felt certain the Interlopers would be unable to stop them this time. There was no way they could defend against a surprise attack such as this.

"All hands, hear this," Goshenite announced. "We are approaching the Interloper base. The station is protected by a force field, making it impossible to strike from this distance. Ground troops, prepare for land assault." She ended the announcement, turning towards Emerald. "What's your call? You going down there, or staying up here?"

"I'll go," said Emerald. "I won't be of much use up here."

"Alright," Goshenite said. "I've already sent Topaz down with the others, so you can meet her on the front lines. I assume this one is joining you?"

"You bet I am!" said Onyx, the 'this one' in question. "No way am I letting Mera see all the action without me!" Emerald groaned, but did not correct her.

The two boarded a dropship amongst some Quartzes. The battle had already begun down below, with Homeworld's armada firing on some Interloper battleships that had ascended to see what the deal was.

"I think you were right on the money about that sneak attack," Onyx said. "These fools won't know what hit 'em!" Emerald wasn't listening; instead, she was more focused on her arm. "Hey, Mera, you okay?" Onyx asked.

"No," Emerald said quietly. "Onyx...I don't think I'm making it out of this one."

"Come on, Mera, don't think like that!" said Onyx. "We've made it through worse, we just have to-Oh. Oh, I see. So, Heliodor hasn't found a way to fix you, then, huh?"

Emerald shook her head. "Not yet, anyway. For all I know, there's no way to fix me."

"Huh." Onyx was quiet for some time. "Mera- My Emerald-if this really is our last dance, I just wanted to say what a privilege it's been serving you."

"Thank you, Onyx," Emerald replied. "You've been the best bodyguard a Gem like me could hope to have."

Onyx grinned. Another Gem approached. "My Emerald?" said Tanzanite.

"Oh, Tanzanite," said Emerald. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to give my potential farewells," she said. "Should the data prove correct, and this is indeed your last mission before corruption overtakes you, I wanted to say just how fond I was of serving you."

"Heh, you and me both, sister," replied Onyx.

"Thanks, Tanzanite. Coming from you, that means a lot," Emerald said. "And hey, at the end of the day, when all of this is over, at least you'll have each other."

"Unless I get shattered down there," said Onyx. "But hey, I've made it this far, haven't I?"

"Onyx, the odds of you surviving this battle are approximately forty-five-point-seven-two percent," said Tanzanite.

"Never change, Tanz," said Onyx with a sigh. "Never change."

In the midst of everyone's awkward goodbyes, Goshenite arrived to get the show back on the road. "Alright, time to get moving, the battle's already started down there." She looked at Emerald with a bittersweet smile. "_Adamantem In Eternum_, you traitorous clod."

"Emerald grinned. "Same to you, you stuck-up pebble."

The doors to the dropship closed. The harness holding it disengaged, and the ship descended down towards the planet's surface to join the other Gems already engaged in combat.

"So," asked Onyx, "are you guys like, friends now, or what?"

The dropship made planetfall in the midst of what looked like Gem victory. The Interlopers had been caught unawares, and as such were unable to properly defend themselves against the assault. Red Topaz was waiting for them on the ground, piles of destroyed Interlopers surrounding her.

"Glad you ain't late to the party!" she said gruffly.

"Are you kidding?" said Onyx as she, Emerald, and the other Quartzes disembarked. "I wouldn't miss this for the world, you insolent shard!"

"No, we aren't there quite yet," groaned Topaz.

"It looks to me like you've got the situation under control," Emerald said. "Are all the troops set to march on the base?"

"Yup," answered Topaz. "We've practically got 'em surrounded! They ain't gettin' out of this one!"

Suddenly, the sound of engines was heard from the direction of the base. Hundreds of Interloper fighters were filling the skies, just as hundreds of troops took to the battlefield.

"Uh oh, looks like they've got backup," Onyx said.

"Not for much longer," Topaz said. "Emerald? Just say when."

Emerald grinned. Glowing with a brilliant light, her blade once again emerged from her gemstone.

"Let's show these bastards how we do things on Homeworld!"


	22. All Void Breaks Loose

Chapter Twenty-Two: All Void Breaks Loose

* * *

_Alpus Beta._

Interlopers surged from within their base in the hundreds, thousands even. One by one, each robot was cut down by the Gems' advance. Armies of Quartzes, Rubies, Topazes, and all sorts of others tore through the veritable hordes of Scavengers, Predators, and Raptors.

With a single swing from her hammer, Onyx smashed an entire squadron of Interlopers into scrap. "Come on, you rocks! You wanna live forever!?" she called, rallying the Gems around her.

The battle was no less fierce above the ground. Battleships on both sides screamed through the skies, sending arcs of plasma soaring through the air at one another. Two Interloper battleships attempted to combat their Gem counterparts, but were soon torn apart by sheer firepower. The ships collided with the ground, crushing Interlopers beneath them as Gems ran to safety.

Emerald, meanwhile, felt unstoppable. She had torn through Interlopers before, but never on this scale. That, coupled with all of the Gems fighting by her side, made her feel more powerful than she had ever felt. For a moment, she even forgot about her corruption.

The Interlopers were getting desperate now, and began bringing out the big guns. Numerous Carnivores emerged from the base, firing towards the advancing Gems. Each shot created a big enough explosion to destabilize a small crowd of Gems. One of these shots was about to hit Emerald, though it was blocked at the last second by Onyx, who was left somewhat dazed.

"Onyx, are you okay?" Emerald asked.

"Could be better, but I'll live," Onyx groaned in response.

Before the Carnivores could fire another volley, several energy blasts descended on them from above, blowing the Interlopers to bits. Emerald looked up and saw a few Gem battleships, the _Xenocide_ among them.

Emerald grinned, before returning her attention to the Interlopers. They were still coming, but the Gems had made a definite advance towards their base. Still, there was quite a ways to go.

"My Emerald," came a transmission from Tanzanite, "sensors indicate a larger-than-average Interloper battleship is attempting to take off." Emerald looked, and sure enough, she saw one of their ships rising into the air, just beneath the domed barrier.

"Can you flank it?" asked Emerald.

"Negative," responded Tanzanite. "It is still protected by the shield. Scans show it is capable of jumping to warp space from within a planet's atmosphere. If Melvirius is aboard that vessel, it is likely he will escape unless we are able to ground that ship somehow."

Emerald looked around. A handful of dropships were coming and going to deliver more troops to the battlefield. "I think I have an idea," she said. "Get ready to fire on that battleship if you get an opportunity." Emerald turned to Onyx and Red Topaz. "You two keep on advancing, I'm going to try something." She ran over to one of the landing dropships.

As the Citrines exited, Emerald hopped up in their place. "Do you think you can get me inside that shield?" Emerald asked the pilot.

"I can certainly try, My Emerald," the Nephrite said. "Hold on!" The dropship took to the skies with Emerald leaning out the open side door.

Onyx called after Emerald. "Oy, Mera! You give that mother-fracture what he's got coming, ya hear!?" Emerald saluted in response as she flew off into the distance. Now surrounded by Interlopers, Onyx said to Topaz, "Bet I can break more of 'em than you."

Red Topaz scoffed. "Not likely!" Both Gems readied their weapons.

* * *

The skies above the battle were still cluttered. Interloper fighters tried to shoot down the dropship, some recognizing Emerald. "I'll try to keep them off you!" Emerald shouted. With well-timed bolts of electricity, Emerald was able to prevent the fighters from damaging her chariot.

Despite Emerald's expert marksmanship, she was only one Gem. Although she was able to keep many of the fighters away, it wasn't long before one of the ships got lucky, landing a single hit on the dropship's critical systems.

Emerald held on tight as the ship lurched from side to side. A droning alarm sounded from inside. "We've been hit, My Emerald, we're going down!" the Nephrite yelled.

Emerald grabbed hold to the ship's inner railing. "Try to aim for the top of that battleship!" Emerald responded.

The dropship was high enough and close enough to the Interloper's base to make a crash landing on top of Melvirius' escaping ship. It phased through the barrier before skidding to a halt, screeching across the metal, before coming to a rest near a (thankfully inactive) turret. Emerald pulled herself out of the wreckage, followed by the Nephrite.

"I'm going inside," Emerald said. "Are you coming with, or are you making your escape?"

"Neither," the Nephrite replied, pulling a blaster out from the crashed dropship. "I'll cover you from out here. Good luck, My Emerald," she said.

Emerald nodded, before cutting an entry hole in the ship's hull with her blade. Behind her, as she descended into the depths, the Nephrite fired at approaching Interlopers, but she was soon pinned down. Time was of the utmost importance to Emerald's mission.

Upon entering the ship, Emerald slashed through the guards before they even realized there was an intruder. The room she was in was sealed with a heavy blast door, which she was able to open by shocking the control panel. She ran down the hallways, cutting down every Interloper she ran into.

"Melvirius!" she yelled into the darkness. "I know you're in here! Come out and fight me!"

As she expected, there was no answer. So, Emerald continued to run through the ship, and run through its crew when she came across them. After what was to Emerald far too much running for such a ship, she arrived at what appeared to be the control room. Several panels lay before a gigantic orb of swirling crimson energy. Emerald assumed this to be the core. Aside from a few guards, which she easily dispatched, the process seemed to be entirely automated.

The ship, not needing pilots, was about to make the jump to hyperspace. Emerald wouldn't have that, however, and smashed the control panel to pieces. She tore at it with her blade and her claws, wanting to make sure that it was in no way salvageable.

As Emerald rose both of her fists into the air to deliver one final smash to the panel, she was struck by several blasts of energy, one after the other. Emerald was forced to the ground by the barrage of ceaseless shots. She was just barely able to crawl over to the other side of the control panels to take cover.

"You...are one _persistant little Gem_, aren't you?" said Melvirius, his voice dripping with rage. His right arm was held out in front of him in its cannon configuration. "It seems like I can't get _anything_ accomplished anymore without you butting in! Where exactly do you get off acting so high and mighty, anyway?"

"I am the Supreme Admiral of Homeworld," Emerald answered from behind the panel. "It is my duty to ensure the complete and utter sanctity of this empire, and to carry out the Diamonds' will wherever and whenever I am needed."

Melvirius waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, spare me such pious nonsense! You're nothing more than a drone, carrying out the will of your petty little queens! You're not a 'supreme' anything! You're just a cog in their machine!"

"And you're any better?" asked Emerald. "What makes you Interlopers so much better that us Gems?"

"You really haven't figured it out yet?" Melvirius said, amused. "I would have thought someone of your...let's say 'intellectual caliber' would have made the connection by now!"

"What are you going on about?" asked Emerald. "Need I remind you that _you're _the ones that attacked _us_?

Melvirius laughed quietly. "I did not start this game, if that is what you're implying. I merely started the second round. And I intend to be the one...to _finish it_!" The Interloper general dove forward, leaning over the control panel and pointing his blaster where Emerald's voice had been coming from. But Emerald herself was not there. He looked around for his foe, turning to the side just in time to see Emerald strike him with her blade. The attack left nothing more than a small cut on his cheek.

Emerald swung at Melvirius again, but each swipe was either dodged or parried. Though she did manage to get a few hits in, the damage was extremely minimal.

The battle continued on to the catwalks above. Melvirius swung, his punches powerful enough to knock Emerald back a few feet whenever they made contact. Dodge, parry, and strike as she did, Emerald knew that she was outclassed.

"It seems to me that we're back to square one!" said Melvirius. "After all the trials and tribulations you went through, all the hardships, you still can't beat me!"

"Be quiet," growled Emerald. Her arm was burning now. Distracted by this sensation, she tried to get some distance between her and Melvirius, though he responded by activating both of his arm cannons, opening fire on her.

"Yes, keep running!" the Interloper said. "Run away, like you always do! You don't have it in you to beat me! Just like the Gems don't have it in them to beat us!"

The burning in Emerald's arm was becoming unbearable. The pain was growing more intense as Melvirius spoke, driving Emerald to her knees. She could barely concentrate now, filled only with a mixture of hatred, rage, and pain. She could barely remember her own name.

Melvirius rounded the corner to see Emerald on the floor, helplessly clutching her arm. "Well, this is a sad sight," he said. "Does it hurt, Emerald? Because it looks quite painful. Do you know what would make it feel better? If you just gave up. Let it flow through you, and give in to the pain. Let it take you, Emerald."

Through her pain, Emerald was able to send a flurry of spines at her enemy. She said nothing, only snarled.

Melvirius took this as a grave offense, lifting Emerald into the air by her neck. "You could have made this easy," he hissed. "You could have just laid down and died. It would have been simpler for everyone." He threw Emerald off of the catwalk, the Gem landing on the floor just beside the ship's core.

"You've been nothing but an annoyance," he said, jumping down to her. "The other generals mean nothing. Destroying them has only delayed progress." Emerald tried to crawl away from him, but he lifted her into the air once more. "Once you're dead, I will fly away from this place, rebuild my army, and take the Oculus to Homeworld myself! We'll tear down everything you've built; all your outposts, all your colonies, everything!" Melvirius slammed Emerald against the core, pinning her against it with her forearm.

The Interloper laughed. "Do you want to know the best part? I'm going to kill everyone you love. Your Diamonds, that brute Onyx, even your pathetic Pearl. And there's nothing you can do to stop me." Melvirius' left arm transformed into a cannon, which he pressed against Emerald's temple. "This time, I'll make sure you disappear for good."

Before he could fire, Emerald collected her bearings just long enough to summon her blade. As striking Melvirius would be useless, Emerald instead selected a different target. Her blade repositioned itself so that it stuck upwards from her gem rather than outwards, and Emerald drove her arm back towards the core.

Her blade pierced the core, causing its millions of volts of electricity to run through her. Melvirius was blown backwards by the shockwave, looking up to see Emerald levitating in the air. She was absorbing the energy into herself, the dark red jolts turning green once they became hers. Slowly, she turned her head to face Melvirius.

She said nothing. Her eyes, glowing with malice, said everything.


	23. Release the Beast

Chapter Twenty-Three: Release the Beast

* * *

With no power to keep it in the air, the Interloper battleship began to fall towards the ground. It crashed down into the base, filling the air with the sounds of explosions and rending metal. The impact damaged the base enough that the barrier protecting it started to vanish piece-by-piece.

"Well, how 'bout that!" Onyx said. "The shield's down! Willing to bet that's Emerald's work, too."

As the ship crashed to the ground, Melvirius stumbled, bracing himself on a handrail. Emerald, hovering above him, had no such issue.

Emerald charged up all the electricity within her, and brought her hands together to unleash a titanic bolt of lightning at her enemy. Melvirius was blown back several yards by the attack, the electricity conducting through the metal near the point of impact. Emerald slowly levitated to the ground, dead set on ending this fight once and for all.

Melvirius staggered to his feet. He still crackled with green sparks of residual electricity. "You...you think this changes anything?" he growled. "You're still the same worthless Gem you were before. You've just been charged up is all!" Melvirius fired a volley from each of his arm cannons.

Emerald countered by simply ionizing the air around her. The blasts simply dissipated upon reaching her. "No more games," she said. "No more tricks. No more distractions. This is where you die." Emerald summoned her blade. It was three times its original length now, and glowed with crackling green energy.

Melvirius did the only sensible thing someone in his position could do: he ran.

Emerald gave chase, firing bolts of lightning after him. Some of them hit their mark, but did nothing to dissuade his escape.

Despite running, Melvirius continued to taunt his pursuer. "You haven't won yet! This is only the beginning!" A blast from Emerald directly to his face was enough to shut him up.

Stumbling from the blast, Emerald was able to catch up to Melvirius. She struck first with a swing from her blade. While not a fatal cut, it sliced through his armor in a way it was unable to before.

Melvirius responded by swinging a punch, which Emerald ducked. "It's only a matter of time before you run out of power," he said. "Then you'll be back to square one, and I will tear you apart like I should have from the beginning!"

"Then I'd better finish this quickly," said Emerald. Melvirius aimed his cannon at Emerald, but she responded by stabbing her blade directly down the barrel. The cannon fired, reducing Melvirius' left forearm to a smoldering hunk of slag.

Melvirius pulled back, examining what was left of his hand. He shouted, swinging it towards Emerald. She simply sidestepped his attack before grabbing a hold of his face, slamming him into the ground.

Emerald drove her blade towards her enemy's chest. Melvirius caught it with his remaining hand, the two struggling as the blade sunk towards its target.

"You...can't...win…" the Interloper said. "When will you...understand this!?"

"You keep saying that," said Emerald. "Are you trying to convince me? Or yourself?" With one final push, she drove her blade directly into his torso. She directed her electricity through the weapon, sending thousands of volts into her enemy.

Before she could finish him off, Emerald was grabbed from behind by a group of Interlopers. Caught unawares, they were able to pull her off of Melvirius, who made a run for it down the ship's hallways.

Unwilling to let her prey escape, Emerald tapped into all the electricity she had absorbed. Her entire body was wreathed in the sparks as bolts of lightning shot forth from her form, completely destroying all of the robots that surrounded her. The electricity pulled her forward through the hallways, making her speed through them like a glowing bullet.

Just before she could reach him, Melvirius ducked into a side room in the corridor. Only taking a split second to slow down, Emerald followed him through the door.

The room was fairly large, but it appeared to be empty. Melvirius made his way to a door on the other end. Emerald knocked him to the ground with a bolt of electricity before he could reach it.

"What did I say about 'no more tricks?'" Emerald said, standing over him. Her blade was at the ready to deliver the killing blow.

Melvirius laughed, though he sounded exhausted. "Oh, but I have so many more tricks up my sleeves! It would be such a shame to just let them go to waste! For instance, how would you like to meet my personal vanguard?"

In the moment it took Emerald to register just what he said, something large and metal collided with her, sending her up against the wall. She got to her feet, somewhat dazed.

Looking up, Emerald saw that Melvirius was now flanked by a pair of Carnivores. Emerald now understood why this room was so large. She shot a bolt of electricity towards the general, but one of the Carnivores blocked it with its arm.

"You see?" said Melvirius. "Why should I give up on my games when I'm so good at winning them? Now, as much as I would love to stay and kill you myself, I'm a busy man. Have fun playing with the twins, Emerald!" Melvirius turned to leave. "After all, it's the last fun you'll ever have."

Emerald charged towards him, but was hit by a blast from one of the Carnivores. She flew across the room once more, coming to a stop just in front of the door she came in through. She tried to open it, first with the control panel and then with her blade, but it had been sealed shut behind her.

Another blast collided with the door, which Emerald was just barely able to avoid. Emerald was sent flying backwards, but the door held strong.

Emerald pulled herself up off the ground, a painful burning in her left arm distracting her. She tried to fire blasts of electricity at the Carnivores, but it had no effect. She had used up all the excess power she had absorbed. Instead, she charged at the pair, her blade outstretched.

She slashed at one of their legs, to little effect. The Carnivore simply kicked her in reply, sending her to the ground. Emerald tried to get to her feet, but the burning in her arm was making this difficult. To make matters worse, the sensation was slowly spreading through the rest of her body.

Emerald tried her hardest to resist the pain, to think of things that brought her joy. Her home, her friends, her Pearl. But no matter what she tried, she only felt rage.

Making matters worse, the Carnivores circled her like vultures. One of them stomped hard down on Emerald. This impact only served to further anger her, making the burning worse.

This was it. Emerald could feel it. Her entire crew couldn't even put a dent in one Carnivore, and now she was facing a pair of them, alone. Her pain, physical, mental, and emotional, was consuming her. She was going to be shattered here, and Melvirius was going to make good on his promise. Everything she loved was going to be destroyed, all because she was too weak. This corruption inside her was a sickness, keeping her shackled to the ground in pain.

But as she lay on the ground, something happened. As she thought of all her friends, Pearl, Onyx, Tanzanite, Tenrit, the countless Gems under her command, even Goshenite to a small degree, her rage became a lot less overwhelming. As she thought of how the Interlopers would destroy her home and her loved ones, her hatred stopped holding her down; now, instead, it held her up.

Emerald stood up. Her teeth were bared, and her eyes flashed with righteous fury. She now knew what she had to do. This whole time, she had suppressed her transformation, mortified of what it would do to her. Now, with nothing left to lose, she embraced it. The rage, and hatred, even the fear, were no longer the Diamonds', forced upon her by a cruel twist of fate: they were her own. Her rage at Melvirius, her hatred of the Interlopers, her fear of what would happen if she failed, they were all her own. The burning that had been flowing through her arm, and then her entire body, was now replaced by a glowing warmth, like a fireplace on a cold winter evening.

_I have to win_, thought Emerald. _If I don't, this is the end. I have to fight, and I have to win. I have to kill Melvirius. I have to destroy the Interlopers._ This thought was all that was in her mind.

Emerald stood firm in the face of her opponents. Her body was enveloped in a white glow. She began to grow larger. Her teeth grew sharper. Her claws grew longer.

_I have to destroy the Interlopers_, she thought. _I have to destroy the Interlopers. Destroy the Interlopers. Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers Destroy the Interlopers... _

"Let me show you what a real predator looks like!" Emerald's voice was much deeper and more guterral as the transformation drew nearer to completion.

A loud roar filled the room. Where Emerald had stood, now sat a monster. It's body hung low to the ground on all-fours. The spines that had adorned Emerald's left wrist had migrated to a cluster at the end of this monster's tail. It's crocodilian snout was filled with sharp fangs, and its head was adorned with countless yellow eyes. A thick, shaggy mane hung around the beast's neck.

Facing this new, much larger threat, the Carnivores opened fire with their massive cannons. The creature that had been Emerald pounced to the side out of harm's way, before leaping to the top of one of her attackers' heads. Biting and clawing, she soon tore its head completely off its shoulders.

The second Carnivore, unconcerned with friendly fire, shot its guns at Emerald once again. Just like last time, she dodged, leaving the headless Carnivore to take the brunt of the impact, sending it careening over.

With a flick of her tail, Emerald flung a flurry of spines towards her foe. These much larger spines pierced through its armor with ease. The Carnivore seemed undeterred by them, however, and shot more blasts towards Emerald. She leapt out of the way of each one, crawling on the walls like a spider as she avoided the shots. She landed on its back, tearing into the metal with her claws. The Carnivore tried to fight back, but it had no way to reach her. Before long, Emerald had dug her way completely through the robot's torso, bursting out of its chest.

The Carnivore was not ready to give up, though. It swiped at Emerald with its blasters, desperate to do some kind of damage. In response, Emerald picked up the head of the other Carnivore in her mouth, and leapt back into this one's chest. She shoved the disembodied head deep into the circuitry of the other one, which sputtered and shook, before finally collapsing.

Despite lacking a head, the first Carnivore was not out of the fight yet. Stumbling impotently in the direction of the sounds of battle, Emerald latched onto it with her teeth. She sent waves of electricity into the machine, which finally decided to give up the ghost, falling to the ground in a smoldering heap.

Both giant Interlopers dealt with, Emerald set her sights on Melvirius once again. She tore her way through the door he had exited through. Several more Interlopers tried to stand in her way, but they were no match for the rampaging beast she had become.

Now that she shield had been disabled, the Gems had begun attacking the base itself. Her surroundings were filled with fires and explosions as the Interlopers tried their absolute hardest to salvage what they could of this losing battle. Emerald scanned all around to try and find her target amongst all of the chaos. Finally, in the distance, she caught sight of Melvirius entering a ship.

Emerald took off running. As she ran, every Interloper she passed opened fire on her. It did little to slow her down, but all the blasts began to add up over time. Still, she continued to run, undaunted.

The ship had begun to take off when she arrived. She leapt onto the top of the vessel, attempting to tear her way through the hull.

"Don't you know when to quit!?" yelled Melvirius. He attempted to rock the ship to shake off the aggressor. Emerald slid to the ship's side, but held firm. She continued to tear chunks out of the chassis until she but through a particularly important cable. Melvirius lost control of the ship as it careened to the side.

As the ship crashed hard to the ground, it was Emerald who took the brunt of the impact. The ship crashed on its side, exactly where she was, before rolling off and coming to a stop several meters away. Emerald began to limp towards the ship, glowing light shining from her wounds. Her lower left leg was missing, and there was a sizeable hole in her haunch.

Melvirius punched his way through the ship's windscreen and began firing at Emerald. Slug after slug was pumped into the corrupted Gem's face, but this only served to fan the flames of her hate.

Emerald arced her tail over her head. The spines began to glow, before coalescing into a single, giant spike. Her tail shot forward, impaling Melvirius directly through the chest, before she pulled him out of the ship. The Interloper continued to fire at Emerald, until she split her tail spike back into its component spines. The force was enough to completely tear Melvirius in half.

Melvirius attempted to drag himself, or rather, what was left of his torso, away from the wounded Gem with his one remaining arm. Emerald slowly made her way over to him, her size allowing her to close the gap.

Upon reaching him. Melvirius turned over onto his back and began firing more blasts towards Emerald. She pressed a claw down on his broken body, and tore off his other arm with her teeth.

Melvirius glared at Emerald, his one remaining eye still glowing red. The other hung limply from a few wires, still a dim red. "Killing me will solve nothing," he said. His voice was barely understandable, like a radio with terrible reception. "The Interlopers will not be stopped. We will not be contained. For as long as the Oculus hangs low in the sky, we will not be defeated."

In response to this, Emerald picked up what was left of him in her mouth, and shook vigorously. Oil, wires, and bits of metal flew everywhere as she quite literally chewed him up and spit him out.

The biggest remaining piece of Melvirius, half of his head, laughed. "Farewell, Emerald," he said, his voice growing ever more staticky. "It was...a pleasure…" With that, the Interloper general's eye faded to black, and at last, he was silent.

Victorious at last, Emerald unleashed a mighty roar towards the skies. As the base around her collapsed, Emerald allowed herself to give in to her wounds, content that she had finally won her fight.


	24. Epilogue

Chapter Twenty-Four: Epilogue

* * *

It was all over. The battle had been won at long last. After hours of fighting, the Interloper base had finally fallen. Goshenite had descended to the planet's surface to raise a flag bearing the Diamond Authority insignia among the ruins of the compound.

"She has to be around here somewhere," Onyx said. The black Gem was furiously rummaging through the rubble. "She couldn't have just vanished, she has to still be here!"

Tanzanite placed her hand on Onyx's shoulder. "We will find Emerald before long. She cannot have gone far."

While her friend continued to look, Tanzanite walked over to a pair of Citrines discussing the battle. "Do either of you have any information as to Emerald's whereabouts?"

"Last I saw her, she was back on the ship," The first one said. "I haven't seen her since,"

"I saw her," said the other. "She flew on one of the dropships over to the base."

"In that case, you should probably talk to the pilot," the first Citrine said. "I hear she's recovering over by the camp. She might know more."

Tanzanite thanked the pair of Citrines and headed over to a camp where wounded Gems were recovering. Sure enough, a Nephrite was regaling her teammates with the tale of her brave mission behind enemy lines. She was covered in numerous cuts and abrasions, and was missing her entire right arm, though these injuries would heal in time.

"...and when the ship crashed, I knew that was my ticket to safety. Little did I know, it would just put me right in the middle of a squadron of Predators!" The Nephrite recognized Tanzanite as the latter approached. "Well, if it isn't Emerald's very own Tanzanite!" she said. "You here to collect data from the battle or something?"

"Actually, I was searching for Emerald: we have yet to locate her. Being the last to see her, do you have any further information on her location?"

"Sorry, but last I saw her, she went into the ship. I was too focused on trying to survive to follow after her."

"I might know," a voice behind her said. On further inspection, this voice belonged to a Milky Quartz: one of Goshenite's personal vanguards.

"Excellent," said Tanzanite. "Do you know if she is unharmed?"

"Not exactly," said the Quartz. "A little while after the ship crashed, this...thing tore its way out. I can't say I got a good look at it, what with all the Interlopers around me, but I know for sure that it was the exact same colors as Emerald."

Tanzanite seemed to become more solemn than usual. "Then the process is complete," she said.

"I heard a little bit about what was going on with her, but I don't really know the full story. Anyway, she was headed over to the east barracks." The Quartz pointed towards where Emerald had ran. "If she's still around here, she's probably around there."

Tanzanite headed in that direction. Onyx had largely given up on her search, only to join Tanzanite when she saw her walking toward the barracks.

"Did you find her?" the large Gem asked.

"Somewhat," said Tanzanite.

"'Somewhat?'" repeated Onyx. "Is this really the time to be vague?"

As the both of them reached their destination, they found that Goshenite was already standing there. A destroyed Interloper ship had come to rest not far from their location. But what caught their eyes was a glint of something green laying there in the middle of the courtyard.

Onyx immediately ran over to it. "Mera! I'm comin'!" she shouted. She knelt down where the gemstone lie, immediately identifying it as not just _an_ Emerald, but _her_ Emerald. She picked it up to examine it for chips or cracks. Finding none, she breathed a sigh of relief. "She's okay."

"Onyx…" Tanzanite said. "One of Goshenite's soldiers reported seeing an unidentified creature with Emerald's colors."

"So, you mean…"

"Yes. Although she is unharmed, it is unlikely she is 'okay.'"

Goshenite approached, examining the gemstone of her fallen rival, gripped tightly in the Quartz's hands. She held out her arm. "Here. Let me," she said. Reluctantly, Onyx handed her Emerald's gemstone. Goshenite held it for a moment, feeling its weight in her palm. Then, she placed her other hand over the gem, sealing it within a white bubble, which then vanished.

Onyx turned her head to see the carnage Emerald left in her wake. Among the destruction sat the remains of Melvirius, his disembodied head covered in dust.

Onyx grinned. "So," she said, "she finally got 'im."

* * *

_Homeworld, Capital District. Goshenite's residence. Two days later._

Pearl sat alone in the empty room. Over her head, bubbles containing various gemstones floated silently like a mobile. In one of these bubbles, which Pearl was staring at, contained Emerald's gem.

In a room adjacent to this one, the other members of the Council of Beryls discussed how to proceed from here.

"First and foremost, we'll need a new Supreme Admiral," came the voice of Bixbite. "I know it seems sudden, but the Interlopers are still a threat. To face them without the guidance of a Supreme Admiral would be foolish."

"I agree with Bixbite," said Maxixe. "Intelligence shows that the Interlopers haven't given up just yet. Their tactics have greatly diminished with their generals destroyed, but they still have enough members to pose a threat."

"Not to mention, the resource shortage is still going strong," said Heliodor. "With no planets bearing life, I'm worried we'll have to make some sacrifices."

"Such things are for the Diamonds to decide, not us," said Morganite. "Now, you're certain Emerald cannot be cured?"

"I'm not sure about that," said Heliodor. "I know there's a way to fix her, but I just haven't figured out what it is yet. I'll just have to keep looking for it until I find it."

"You do that," said Maxixe. "In the meantime, I believe we should find a replacement. Temporary if we can, but permanent if necessary."

"Yes, and what about all of those Gems under her command?" asked Morganite.

"I'll take them," said Goshenite, speaking for the first time the entire meeting.

"_You_ will?" asked Bixbite. "All of them?"

"If necessary. If the Diamonds decide to relocate her Gems themselves, so be it, but until then, I'll take charge of them. Just until Emerald is well enough to return to active duty."

"Then it's settled," Bixbite said. "This meeting is hereby adjourned. We will reconvene in one week's time to discuss strategy moving forward."

Pearl heard the sound of chairs sliding backward, followed by the footsteps of the Gems exiting the building. All except Goshenite herself, who entered Pearl's room. She walked over to sit down in a chair at the far corner of the room.

Pearl walked over. "M-Miss Goshenite...did you mean that? About taking over all of Emerald's Gems?"

Goshenite looked up, a melancholy look in her eyes. "I did. After all the centuries treating Emerald like I did, it's the least I can do."

"Even me?"

"Yeah, even you." Goshenite stood up to get a better view of Emerald in her bubble. "I was never the type of Gem to own a Pearl. Seemed like a waste of time, to be honest. No offense. But I'm willing to make an exception. Emerald really loved you, you know?"

Pearl nodded. "Yes. She even asked me if I _wanted_ to stay with her. I didn't have a choice, being a Pearl, but she asked me anyway."

Goshenite grinned. "So loyal, yet so deviant. I used to think Gems like her would lead to Homeworld's destruction. But now, I feel like we could use a few more Gems like Emerald."

"You said it!" Pearl said, hugging Goshenite.

"Whoah, hey, what are you doing? Watch it!" Goshenite snapped, shoving Pearl off of her.

Pearl took a few steps back. "Sorry about that, Miss Goshenite. I'm just used to hugging, is all. Emerald said it was encouraged."

Goshenite looked at the floor remorsefully. "I suppose...under the right circumstances, hugging can be _slightly_ encouraged with me," she said.

Pearl lit right back up, wrapping her arms around the white Gem's waist. In spite of her annoyance, Goshenite pat Pearl on the head, smiling a little.

"We're going to get her back, Pearl," she said. "Just you wait."

* * *

_Planet Earth. September 31, 2014._

A single figure sat behind a desk, alone in a dark room. The small office had no windows, so the man's face was illuminated only by a tiny desk lamp. The man was heavily-built and broad-shouldered despite his age, and his hair and beard barely toed the line between auburn and grey. He was busy studying a file filled with several photographs when a light knock was heard at the door. "Come in," he said.

A second man entered the room. Like the first man, he was dressed in a formal suit. This man was younger than the first, and much less broad. He was tall and skinny, but not near enough to be considered lanky. "You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked.

"I did," said the older man. "How are the cover-ups of the 'Beach City incident' coming along?"

"Not entirely well, to be honest," answered the younger man. "Our official story is that an experimental weather-control satellite went haywire, but nobody's really buying it. I mean, to be fair, all the world's oceans suddenly just forming into a giant pillar isn't exactly something you can just cover up."

"It will have to do," said the older man. "In this day and age, there are always going to be people who suspect that the government is up to something. Speaking of 'up to something,' that isn't why I called you in here. This is."

The older man turned the file he was examining towards the younger man. The most prominent picture depicted what appeared to be a small town square, next to a forest, somewhere in France. Upon closer inspection, a figure could be seen lurking within the trees. No features were visible, other than they seemed to be wearing a gas mask.

"I'll be danged," said the younger man. "Look who finally decided to show his face again. So to speak."

"This was taken in Eiffel two weeks ago," said the older man. "The locals are certain it depicts the legendary cryptid 'Le Loyon,' but I think it's obvious who it really is. But the worst part is, this isn't far from a local airport. Evidence suggests he's coming back to the States."

"So, what's our next move?" asked the younger man. "Should we alert the Gems?"

"No, I don't want to bother them worrying about human affairs," said the older man. "Besides, they've got Rose's kid to deal with. The entire reason BAINE was founded was to take care of this sort of thing so they didn't have to."

"If you say so, sir," said the younger man. "You still think he's a threat?"

"Of course he is," the older man answered. "SEEN may have disbanded, but he no doubt has other connections."

"Well then, I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens," the younger man said.

"Yes," said the older man. "All we can do is wait."


End file.
